KISS, the Black Keys, Jimmy Buffett to play free concerts in New Orleans during NCAA Final Four

Keith Spera | The Times-Picayune

Danny Bourque

Veteran hard rock group Kiss will kick off “The Big Dance Concert Series” on Friday, March 30. The band last performed in New Orleans during the 2009 Voodoo Experience in City Park. Expect a set heavy on such favorites as “Rock ‘n’ Roll All Night,” “Detroit Rock City” and “Calling Dr. Love.”

The Black Keys, performing on Saturday March 31, are a natural choice: The NCAA is using the band’s “Gold on the Ceiling” as the theme music for the March Madness television promotional campaign. The Keys, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, traffic in a raucous style of blues-derived rock ‘n’ roll. The success of the band’s current “El Camino” album confirmed the Keys’ transition from underground sensation to mainstream attraction, as did a recent appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone and a show at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

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