Neville Brothers to resume fest tradition

NEW ORLEANS, May 3 (UPI) -- The Neville Brothers will resume the group's traditional set at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this year after a lengthy hiatus, members say.

While Hurricane Katrina prevented the group from performing at the annual festival since 2005, members of the "Family Groove" band said they plan to perform a set at the event they frequented for 15 years, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Band members and brothers Art, Aaron, Charles and Cyril Neville said their performance will be a homecoming.

"We carry New Orleans everywhere we go," singer Aaron Neville said. "We're from New Orleans. We walk and breathe New Orleans. That's what we're about."

Charles Neville told the Times the group will attempt to reflect the city's struggles since Katrina through its music at the festival, which started last weekend and will conclude with the Neville Brothers' performance Sunday.

"The lyrics of some songs relate to some of the negative things that are happening," Charles said. "But the spirit of the music is positive. So there's that balance. The yin and the yang are in it."