Watch Teddy Swims’ Surprise Appearance At Preservation Hall In New Orleans
Watch the genre-blending superstar sing “Lose Control,” “Mr. Know It All” and “That’s All” at the intimate venue.
By Scott Bernstein May 6, 2026 • 1:41 pm PDT
Teddy Swims' career has been blowing up to the level of playing bigger venues and festival stages with each successive tour. The vocalist was in New Orleans this past weekend to play Jazz Fest and used his trip to the Crescent City for an increasingly rare performance in front of a extremely small crowd.
Swims was a surprise guest for the Midnight Preserves concert series at Preservation Hall the night before taking the stage at the Fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon. The annual benefit series is a fundraiser for the Preservation Hall Foundation, an organization that supports music education in New Orleans.
Approximately 100 people get to witness intimate performances from secret guests at the venue in NOLA’s French Quarter. Past guests have included Dave Matthews, Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl. This year, the series hosted performances by Swims, Irma Thomas, Lake Street Dive, St. Vincent (Annie Clark), Steve Earle, River Eckert, Neal Francis, Erica Falls, Rickie Lee Jones, The Black Keys, Ivan Neville, Lainey Wilson, Ziggy Marley, Grace Bowers, Alejandro Escovedo, Tyler Childers, Amelia Meath, Lauren Daigle, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Jelly Joseph, Cimafunk and Mt. Joy.
Teddy Swims’ set included takes on his big hit “Lose Control” and recently released original “Mr. Know It All,” along with a cover of the Nat King Cole-popularized standard “That’s All.” Swims previously performed the Bob Haymes-composed number one year prior in the BBC Radio 2 Piano Room. Preservation Hall Jazz Band backed Teddy Swims at Midnight Preserves.
Watch clips from Teddy Swims’ visit to Preservation Hall below:
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