Spring festival season kicks off this week with Rhythms on the River, Sawmill event

The spring festival season shifts into gear this weekend for Tri-City stay-at-homes and for those willing to travel.
Coming up this month:
—Rhythms on the River. The downtown Morgan City event returns from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday with live music by Don Rich. Rhythms on the River will be held at those times each Friday, from April 10 to June 5, at Front Street between Everett and Freret streets.
This year’s line-up will include live performances by Rich, Jamie Bergeron, Déjà Vu, South 70, Toni O and the Blue Eyed Soul Revue, Will Cooper and Southern Groove, Louisiana Soul Survivors and Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band.
—The Patterson Cypress Sawmill Festival runs Friday through Sunday at Kemper Williams Park. The proceeds each year go to the Louisiana State Museum in Patterson.
The festival will include a midway, an arts and crafts show, a car show, a poker run, a fun walk, a gumbo cook-off, a softball tournament, a fishing tournament, a golf tournament, a petting zoo, an old engine display, RV camping, a lumberjack show, musical entertainment, and a passe partout contest.
The musical acts will be Country Showdown and the Ruff-N-Ready on Friday; the Beau Young Band, Gregg Martinez and the Delta Kings, Blue-Eye Soul Revue, and South 70 Band on Saturday; and 90 Degrees West, Nick-L-Beer Band, and Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin’ Cajuns Sunday.
—The Black Bear Festival will be April 17-19 in Franklin. This relatively new event, founded in 2006, is educational as well as fun. The purpose is to raise the level of public understanding of black bears and local bird species, too. Learn more at http://www.bayoutechebearfest.org/
Live music at the festival will be Driftwood and Krossfyre on Friday; the 5 O’Clock Shadows Band, Flash Back, Hal Bruni, and Johnny Chauvin on Saturday; and Old Soul and Deja’ Vu on Sunday.
—Lafayette’s Festival International de Louisiane runs April 22-26 this year.
Each year, the festival pairs top local musical acts with some of the most famous performers from the French-speaking world.
This year’s acts include Angelique Kidjo, Ukraine folk-punk outfit DakhaBrakha; Portland, Oregon’s MarchFourth Marching Band; Quebec’s Nomadic Massive; Lafayette pop ensemble GIVERS; and Buckwheat’s World, featuring Buckwheat Zydeco; Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience; Jon Cleary; Roddie Romero & the Hub City Allstars; Lil Nathan & the Zydeco Big Timers; Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers; Helen Gillet; Bonsoir Catin; Lost Bayou Ramblers; Young Pinstripe Brass Band; Brass Bed; and Feufollet.
Most of the performances will be in Lafayette’s downtown parks complex near Jefferson and Garfield streets.
—The New Orleans Jazz Fest will be April 24-26 and April 30-May 3. An amazing cast of headliners includes Elton John, The Who, Jimmy Buffet, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Keith Urban, Pitbull, John Legend, Chicago, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Guy and more.