New Orleans trumpeter and keyboardist Nicholas Payton debuted both his new band, the Light Beings, and a new suite of music written for them and Jazz Fest. There were six compositions with titles like Infrared, Microwave, Ultraviolet, and X-ray.

Nicholas Payton on keyboard, with his bassist looking on

The Light Beings’ syntesizer player and guitarist

The Light Beings’ drummer

JD was asked to give up his initial seat in the Jazz Fest Tent so a show member could sit in it. Nicholas Payton wandered out into the audience with his trumpet and picked out the new occupant of JD’s seat to bring her up on stage as a Light Beings dancer.

JD doesn’t think he could have danced as well as her! Nor does he know why the bass player keeps a sock over his tuning pegs.

Light Beings’ guitarist and thingamajig player (not sure what that is).