Some voices don’t need a stage to find you — they find you in a tent, at one in the afternoon, when the drums kick and the congregation leans forward. That’s where Jada Tanner does her work. A New Orleans gospel vocalist described as a “New Orleans powerhouse vocalist,” Tanner is one of the rising names on the city’s sacred-music circuit, carrying the torch of a tradition that runs from Mahalia Jackson through the Zion Harmonizers to the present day.
Her festival resume reads like a map of where New Orleans goes to worship out loud: the Gospel Tent at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, where she held a 1:00 PM set during Jazz Fest 2026, and the Gospel Tent at Gentilly Fest, where she appeared on the Sunday lineup alongside the city’s beloved gospel choirs and praise leaders.
She has also lent her voice to the moments that matter most to the community. At the musical tribute celebrating the life and ministry of Veronica “Ms. Vee” Downs-Dorsey, the beloved New Orleans minister and musician, Tanner sang in honor of an elder — the kind of church-family duty that says everything about where a gospel singer’s heart is.
