The Playboy Jazz Festival took over the Hollywood Bowl this past weekend. The two-day festival saw droves of people coming together to enjoy the musical talents of both veteran and up-and-coming acts.
On Saturday Morgan James showed us exactly why she was picked to play the part of Teena Marie in Motown: The Musical. The majority of her set included songs from her debut album titled Hunter. Morgan belted out the lyrics to “Fed Up on You” which instantly became one of my new favorite songs! “Heart Shake” and “Say the Words” were pretty dope as well.
Throughout the day each act kept the audience engaged. As the day progressed I truly started to believe that time really does fly when you are having fun. At around 8pm Aloe Blacc took the stage and straight out the gate the audience was on their feet. I don’t know if people were more impressed with the live performance of “I Need a Dolla” or Blacc’s version of the MJ classic “Billy Jean.”
On Sunday the Jones Family Singers, a gospel act that included five sisters, two brothers, and a father, got things started with their RnB, meets rock, meets blues, sounds. Lopez went so far as to say “we just had church in the Hollywood Bowl!” Another highlight of the earlier sets on Sunday was when the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans inspired a second-line procession that made its way through the lower bowl. The only thing missing was some fresh beignets and coffee from Cafe Du Monde!
As the day went on and the weather cooled down the music continued to heat things up. Ledisi hit the stage and performed crowd favorites “I Blame You” and “Piece of Me.” Her voice was on point! No matter where you were sitting it sounded as if you were on the stage with her.
The festival was so much fun! The 17,000 plus people who filled the Hollywood Bowl on both Saturday and Sunday were in great spirits. The atmosphere was vibrant and the Playboy Jazz Festival is most certainly an event I look forward to checking out for years and years to come.