NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival kicks off its first weekend Friday with performances by native sons Harry Connick Jr., Aaron Neville and Kermit Ruffins whether the weather cooperates or not.

The weekend forecast calls for cloudy skies on both the opening day and Saturday, with rain probable on Sunday. Still, producer Quint Davis said the show is going on and he’s excited about the more than 500 performances on tap and the food on the menus.

Davis says he’s keeping his fingers crossed that this year’s event will not include the rain that deluged 2016’s second weekend, causing acts on main stages to end their sets early and cancelled outright Stevie Wonder’s scheduled set.

But Davis says he’s ecstatic that Wonder agreed to return this year.

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