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Jazz Fest day seven; it was around 34c when I arrived with high humidity, but I didn't feel it was too bad. I attended after 18h so the worst of the heat was just during the first hour or so that I was there.

While waiting for the first group, I engaged in conversation with two much younger guys who showed up moments after I did and stood very near me. We talked about this band that none of us knew particularly well and about other shows we have attended, in particular Angine de Poitrine, and Naika. The first group I saw was Dustin Conrad and his band. He was entertaining, and his band were very highly skilled, with some great combined and solo playing; however, his actual singing wasn't really that great. He has released two albums, the first a pop album the second a jazz-pop album and he played songs from both.

Very soon after that show ended I moved as quickly as I could to go to the other stage to watch Ron Artis II; he is a highly skilled electric guitar player and has a very highly skilled band behind him. He sang songs that were really touching; one in particular, No Weight: "best way to rise is to go lift somebody up". I was quite impressed with this band and would be happy to see them again.

The last band I saw was Larkin Poe, I arrived a half hour before the show started, entered the area from the rear and was able to move ahead almost to the very front; there I engaged with a guy perhaps about my age and we talked about this band and about the festival. Larkin Poe is clearly a rock band and they are a high power rock band, the two sisters leading the band are really pro performers, moving around the stage, interacting with the crowd, telling brief stories that lead directly into the start of a song. You can see in the photo that one of the two of them plays a guitar in an odd way; it is because she is playing it as a steel guitar, with a metal cylinder in one hand that she slides across the strings.

I really enjoyed this last show; all in all this was a really good day at the festival.