Love Riot Fest takes SuperBowl Action to the 9th Ward

Story and Photos by Gabrielle Cromwell Data News Weekly Contributor

A day before he performed the National Anthem at Super Bowl LIX, Grammy-Award Winning Recording Artist Jon Batiste returned to the community for The Love Riot Festival welcoming visitors to the Desire-Area 9th Ward as part of city-wide events for the Super Bowl. The festival held at George Washington Carver High School’s grounds on Feb. 8, 2025, brought out community partners, local food vendors, and community leaders united to show that New Orleans’ greatness extends beyond Bourbon Street.

“I just wanted people to know that they have heroes in the 9th Ward,” said Oscar Brown, the Director of Thrive New Orleans and one of the organizers of the event and 9th Ward native. “And we can put on a fest that people will be able to enjoy. Both for the local community and also for outsiders,” Brown said.

The festival, put on by non-profit He Gets Us, featured other special appearances and performances. Jon Batiste teamed up with Ledisi, another New Orleans native, who performed The Star-Spangled Banner at the festival and Lift Every Voice and Sing at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Other performances included George Washington Carver High School’s Marching Band and Rapper Flava Flav appearing with his huge clock chain. Recent Grammy Award-Winning Artist Tarriona “Tank” Hall from Tank and the Bangas graced the stage, along with Gameova Skip who led the crowd into various line dances, with New Orleans-style. Local artist and former George Washington Carver High School student and teacher, Brandan “BMike” Odums, created unique pieces of art for the Love Riot Festival.

“It’s serendipitous to [come back] to the space I started as an artist using spray paint, this very specific ground that you’re standing on, coming back almost ten years later to create the artwork that’s on the walls,” Odums said.

Eternal Seeds, a nonprofit founded by BMike, was just one of the few community programs that partnered with the Love Riot Festival. Roots of Music, Operation Spark, Rethink NOLA, Giving Hope, Thrive New Orleans, Kids Sports Center, Positive Minds Positive Movement, and the Cool Cooperative were camped in tents to reach the community.

“It’s important for the community to find out what kind of resources they have,” said Alaina Dunn, a New Orleans East native and Program Director of the Cool Cooperative. “As a community partner we’re a resource for the community. So, it’s important for us to be here, so that the community learns that they have programs like this,” Dunn said.

Dressed in memorabilia from the nonprofits and Love Riot Festival with New Orleans cuisine in their hands, guests and residents said they wanted to celebrate the City of New Orleans beyond the clichés of the French Quarter.

“We really just wanted this event to show love,” Brown said.