The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2006 lineup was announced today. Its so great to hear that the tradition is continuing. The lineup this year is incredible. I think that many musicians have opted to play to show their support for carrying on the Jazzfest tradition in wake of Katrina. Some of the noteable acts include Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Dave Matthews Band, Elvis Costello and Ani DiFranco and many more. You can check out the complete lineup here.
Here is an exerpt the official press release:

New Orleans, LA (February 15, 2006)—Heralding the comeback of New Orleans music and culture, organizers of the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell today announced a music lineup filled with hundreds of New Orleans’ most beloved musicians, an array of superstars who have delivered some of the Festival’s most thrilling performances, and major artists making their Jazz Fest debuts at the first post-Katrina event on April 28-30 and May 5-7.

And just to keep your ears happy, check out this killer String Cheese Incident performance from Jazzfest 2000:

I miss Leftover Salmon, those guys were such a great slamgrass band! Their live performances were so much fun and pumped full of energy. I think that a huge ingredient in LoS polyethnic cajun slamgrass was frontman Vince Herman. The guy can truly captivate an audience and get the party started. I’ve seen many Leftover Salmon shows where everyone in the crowd was going completely nutty, dancing and hollering and a hooting!

Well, I’m glad to see the void is being filled with Vince Herman performing both solo and in various formations. This past fall, Vince played some gigs with bass virtuoso Rob Wasserman on the Spirit of Guthrie tour. Now, Vince is playing gigs with Randy Crouch and Cliff Starbuck as the Vince Herman Trio. I got my ears on an excellent Vince Herman Trio show from the Fox Theater in Boulder Colorado on January 5, 2006. This is a must listen for all you slamgrass fans out there! Welcome back Vince, and thanks for all the great times!

Here is the info:

The Vince Herman Trio
(first performance)
Fox Theatre
Boulder, Colorado
01-05-2006
Source: Soundboard > Nomad JB3
Taper: Brion Kean

The Vince Herman Trio is:
Vince Herman : guitar, mandolin and vocals
Randy Crouch : fiddle, guitar, and vocals
Cliff Starbuck : bass guitar and banjo

Download it here: