New Orleans in Charlotte

This past weekend, Wells Fargo played host to a little Thanks-for-welcoming-us-to-the-city festival. It was a weekend of the arts as area museums were free to the public and performances were lined up for the accompanying street festival. The highlight was definitely Branford Marsalis taking the stage between the Mint Museum Uptown and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.

And it was a good one to watch. Branford played a bunch of New Orleans standards, making the music readily accessible to an audience regardless of whether they consumed a regular diet of jazz. My guess is that it’s the type of show that he does to put food on the table rather than feed his soul. But for most of us it was great, as it was much more than what we usually get.