|
The duo of Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill won my vote for best surprise and maybe most fun Jazz Fest show of 2026.
Peterson famously is a member of the all-female 1980s pop-rock band, the Bangles. Cowsill was - can you guess? - was part the 1960s pop-vocal family group, the Cowsills. At Jazz Fest, the married Peterson and Cowsill made beautiful music together. Last year, they released their debut album, Long After the Fire. This year they made their Jazz Fest debut.
From his spot on the Lagniappe Stage, Cowsill made note of the special New Orleans occasion. "This is our first Jazz Fest," he said. "This is the coolest thing that ever happened."
Peterson and Cowsill played several songs from Long After the Fire, an entire album of songs composed by Cowsill's late brothers and bandmates, Bill and Barry. Many of the selections, at least in Peterson and her husband's bands, have a strong country flavor, including "Embers," the Bill Cowsill song that inspired the album's title.
Susan Cowsill, the longtime New Orleans resident who is John Cowsill's little sister, joined her brother and sister-in-law for "Embers." That song and the other Long After the Fire tracks they performed were extremely worthy of being recorded, released and performed.
Some of the album's songs heard Sunday, given their California-country sound, would fit neatly on a 1970s Eagles or Linda Ronsdadt album. Another song, "Is Anybody Here," a Bill Cowsill and Jeff Hatcher composition in tribute to Roy Orbison, sounded wonderfully like that great singer.
Peterson and John Cowsill also ventured beyond their duo album, playing some hits they released with their other bands. After Peterson sang lead for the Bangles' Prince-composed "Manic Monday," John Cowsill took the lead for the Cowsills' "Hair." The irrepressible Susan Cowsill, after sneaking on stage several times throughout the show, stayed for the final three songs, the culminating selection being another hit by the Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian."
|
