Trumpet player and vocalist Jennifer Hartswick sits down with us in the green room at Jazz Fest to talk about her decades-long love affair with New Orleans — a city she calls "its own planet" — and the musical relationships that have shaped her career.

Jennifer recounts her first New Orleans gig at the Maple Leaf, an overnight set that ran from 3am to sunrise, and reflects on what it took to earn that kind of audience. She shares the story of meeting Christian McBride, a musician she idolized as a kid, and forming what she describes as an instant soul bond. And she tells us about the night she met Phil Lesh — he didn't know who she was, noticed her trumpet in the green room, and the conversation that followed led to years of playing together in Phil & Friends.

We also talk about High Sierra Music Festival's move to a new home in Grass Valley, and why Jennifer believes this inaugural year there is going to be something special. Guest: Jennifer Hartswick
Website: jenniferhartswick.com | Instagram: @jhartswick
Recorded live at Jazz Fest, New Orleans
#JenniferHartswick #PhilLesh #GratefulDead #ChristianMcBride #HighSierraMusicFestival #JazzFest #NewOrleans #OnlyInTheGreenRoom #MusicPodcast #MapleLeaf

Singer-songwriter Kristin Diable joins Only In The Green Room at the New Orleans Jazz Museum during French Quarter Fest — and the conversation goes deep.

We talk about what it really means to lose your creative voice, how traumatic experiences can freeze a songwriter's ability to be vulnerable, and what it took to come back from that and finish her long-awaited album Impossible Things — out now.

Kristin also opens up about leaving New York in her 20s for a writing sabbatical in New Orleans and never leaving, why the camaraderie between New Orleans musicians is unlike anything else in America, how she thinks about being the "parent of her songs," and what it means to choose joy when things are genuinely hard.

Plus: teaching the "dark arts of songwriting" at Loyola University, running her own independent label Speak Easy, why she thinks festivals are the antidote to screen addiction, and a shoutout to Medium Build.

Impossible Things is available now on all streaming platforms. Search Kristen Diable — D-I-A-B-L-E. Buy the vinyl and CDs at kristendiable.com.

— CONNECT WITH KRISTiN —
Instagram: @kristindiable]

— ONLY IN THE GREEN ROOM —
Subscribe for more candid artist conversations from backstage and beyond.
Instagram: @onlyinthegreenroom
Website: onlyinthegreenroom.com

#KristinDiable #ImpossibleThings #NewOrleans #FrenchQuarterFest #OnlyInTheGreenRoom #SingerSongwriter #NewOrleansMusic #IndieMusic #Songwriting #LiveMusic

Recorded live at Bayou Boogaloo during Jazz Fest in New Orleans — two of our favorites in one green room. Eric Krasno (Soulive, Lettuce) and Wally Ingram (percussionist, collaborator extraordinaire) join us for a wide-ranging conversation as the golden-hour sun goes down over the bayou.

We get into the deep connection between the Grateful Dead world and New Orleans music, what it was like for Eric to join Phil Lesh on stage with no rehearsal and an 80-song set list, and how Wally ended up on the Bob & Phil duo tour with literally a djembe and a pair of bongos.

Plus: how Eric produced Aaron Neville's Grammy-winning album Apache, the story of Lawrence sleeping on his studio floor before they were famous, his new music collaboration platform Ensemble, and why Billy Kreutzmann plays like a New Orleans drummer. Oh, and Eric's five-year-old son is really into James Brown right now.

Just FYI. 🎙️ Only in the Green Room is the backstage music podcast — real conversations with artists in the moment, where the music lives. 📍

Recorded at Bayou Boogaloo | New Orleans, LA 🎸 Guests: Eric Krasno + Wally Ingram

🔔 Subscribe for more green room conversations: onlyinthegreenroom.om 📲
Follow OITGR: Instagram: TikTok: Facebook: 🎶 Follow Eric Krasno: Instagram: @erickrasno 🎶 Follow Wally Ingram: Instagram: @wallyingram

🎟 WIN PIT ACCESS + A SEAT AT OUR FESTIVAL INTERVIEW
Buy tickets at highsierramusic.com and enter code GREEN at checkout. You’ll be automatically entered to win front-of-stage pit access for all shows + an exclusive seat at a live Only In The Green Room podcast interview at the festival.

High Sierra Music Festival · July 2–5 · Grass Valley, CA

🎸 In this episode:
— The New Orleans roots of High Sierra going back to the Radiators and the Grateful Dead world
— The full 2026 New Orleans lineup: The Rumble, Dumpstaphunk, Anders Osborne, The Break (Stanton Moore, Robert Walter, Eddie Roberts), River Ecker, George Porter Jr., Cotadosa, Anna Moss & more
— Don Was and his Blues for Allah 50th anniversary tribute
— The Steely Dead Royal Scam 50th anniversary set + Pink Talking Fish late night mashup
— Lebo's "50 Years in the Rearview" — curating 1976
— Why High Sierra is a musician's festival: landing, connecting, sitting in
— The new Grass Valley location and what it means for the future of the festival
— Sunrise Kickball (yes, really)
— How to get tickets before they're gone

Dave has attended 49 consecutive Jazz Fests, and this conversation captures exactly why the connection between New Orleans music and High Sierra runs so deep. We cover the 2026 lineup, the new Grass Valley venue, and why musicians from Luther Dickinson to George Porter Jr. call High Sierra their favorite festival in America.

🎟️ Get your High Sierra 2026 tickets now: [LINK]

📍 Filmed at The Broadside, New Orleans, during Jazz Fest 2025

Only In The Green Room captures unscripted, candid artist moments backstage and on the road. Subscribe for more long-form interviews with the artists who make live music culture what it is.

🎙️ Also available on all podcast platforms: [LINK]
🌐 Full episode + transcript: [YOUR SITE LINK]

#HighSierra2026 #HighSierraMusicFestival #JazzFest #OnlyInTheGreenRoom #LiveMusic #MusicFestival #NewOrleans #GrassValley OnlyInTheGreenRoom #LiveMusic #MusicFestival #NewOrleans #GrassValley

0:00 Welcome to Only In The Green Room
0:45 How Dave and Tami first met at The Broadside
2:00 The Bay Area–New Orleans connection explained
4:30 The Grateful Dead, the Nevilles, and how it all started
6:15 How the Radiators brought Dave to High Sierra
8:00 The 2026 New Orleans lineup revealed
10:30 The Rumble + Dumpstaphunk late night throwdown
12:00 Anders Osborne, The Break, and Stanton Moore's new trio
14:15 River Ecker: 16-year-old piano phenom
16:30 Luther Dickinson, Jake Ecker, and The Word
18:00 George Porter Jr. with Lebo and the All-Stars
19:30 Don Was, Cymande, and the soul of the 2026 headliners
21:00 Steely Dead, Pink Talking Fish, and the late night mashup
23:00 Why musicians call High Sierra their favorite festival
25:30 The artist liaison program and why artists want to be there
27:00 The new Grass Valley venue and the future of High Sierra
29:30 Sunrise Kickball and the magic of the full festival experience
31:00 Get your tickets now — why this year is unmissableHigh Sierra Music Festival founder Dave Margulies sits down with Only In The Green Room at Jazz Fest in New Orleans — where the two festival worlds collide.

🎧 Listen + full episode, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/meels-interview

Only in the Green Room interviews Mill Valley-raised artist. "Meels" after her Sweetwater stage set, discussing her local upbringing and current life in Pasadena living with her 86-year-old grandmother - after five years in New York and attending NYU’s Clive Davis Institute.

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/pink-talking-fish-interview

A playful, lively, and informative conversation with all members of Pink Talking Fish (Eric Gould, Zack Burwick, Cal Kehoe, Richard James) moments before their recent performance at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, CA. The boys delve into some of their favorite stories, including playing with George Porter, Jr, performing Phish kids shows, their history with Berklee School of Music, and other fun antics.

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/steve-poltz-interview

Backstage at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, “Only in the Green Room” interviews singer-songwriter Steve Poltz, co-writer of Jewel’s multi-platinum “You Were Meant for Me,” as he tours promoting his new green-vinyl album Joy Ride.

🎧 Listen + backstage photos, transcript & more:
https://onlyinthegreenroom.com/episodes/greg-loiacono-stingray-interview

In this episode of Only in the Green Room, we sit down with Greg Loiacono & Stingray, a Bay Area super-group built on deep respect, serious groove, and a whole lot of joy. What started as a solo recording session for Greg Loiacano quickly turned into something much bigger when drummer Michael Urbano stepped in—and the chemistry was instant. Add longtime collaborator and powerhouse percussionist Vicki Randle, and Stingray was born.