Here’s the premise: if you had to make a Pandora station to take with you into the afterlife, and you can only choose 20 bands. As of today. It changes frequently, and it should.
Here’s mine currently with relevant 2019 New Orleans show dates:
- The Band – The classic ensemble. Probably will always retain the number one spot for me.
- The Black Crowes – Jam so hard. Chris Robinson with such a unique rock voice and incredible live energy. Saw the most recent version with Marcus King in 2018 at the Joy, and they didn’t miss a beat.
- Little Feat (with Lowell) – Their best is THE BEST, but the band was never able to fill out the catalog due to Lowell George’s untimely death. So much New Orleans influence.
- The ex-Lowell Feat will play Jazz Fest on May 5, 2019
- The Allman Brothers – One of the few groups where the ensemble changes didn’t seem to derail the band. Great song-writing and guitar.
- The Rolling Stones – Timeless and so many great songs. Incredible on stage.
- May 2, 2019 at Jazz Fest
- Crosby, Stills, and Nash (no Young) – Best vocal harmony.
- Lynyrd Skynyrd (before crash) – Best guitar(s). Free Bird contains the greatest guitar solo, but The Ballad of Curtis Loew is my favorite Skynyrd song. Recent iterations just don’t compare.
- Recent iteration plays May 17, 2019 at Smoothie King Center
- Tedeschi Trucks Band – Derek Trucks is a true virtuoso, and he’s having fun with his soulful-sounding wife Susan Tedeschi.
- January 28-29, 2019 at the Saenger
- Widespread Panic – My favorite of the jam bands.
- Bob Marley – The passion in the song-writing and live performance is impossible to get away from.
- Eric Clapton – Best classical guitarist ever.
- Blackberry Smoke – As a Black Crowes nut, Blackberry Smoke is the choice to carry on the southern rock torch.
- February 21, 2019 at the Fillmore New Orleans
- John Fogerty/CCR – John Fogerty has an incredibly well-preserved voice for his age. Awesome rolodex of hits that exude the 60s and the bayou.
- May 5, 2019 at Jazz Fest
- Guns ‘N Roses – The voice of the 80s. Every song comes at you like a fist to the face. Slash is a top 10 guitarist of all time.
- Margo Price – She can control you with her voice. The next great female crooner.
- Marcus King – Our vote for best up-and-coming guitarist. Derek Trucks is ahead, but both will be legends by the end of their careers.
- Late show night of May 3, 2019 at Republic, also May 4, 2019 at Howlin’ Wolf
- Fleetwood Mac – One of the stranger combinations of style that really works. Put their collective pain and other emotions into the songs.
- Ex-Lindsey Buckingham February 16, 2019 at Smoothie King Center
- Grateful Dead – Legendary shows, and the grandfather of the jam band.
- Emmylou Harris – Greatest female voice ever.
- Pearl Jam – The sound of my teenage angst.
Honorable mention: Jimi Hendrix, Garth Brooks, Neil Young, Bob Dylan (electric), Robert Earl Keen, Biggie 😉