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A Grand Stand for an Extraordinary Man & His Big Band Harry Connick Jr. brings a whole lot of heart, humor, and hard work to his new home on daytime TV Words by Vanessa Pascale Photo credit: NBCUniversal/Heidi Gutman Laissez les bons temps rouler! It's Mardi Gras on the set of Harry Connick Jr.'s talk show, HARRY, today and the studio audience —who are proudly donning the feathered masquerade masks and colorful beaded necklaces provided— is ready to party. I can't think of a better day to visit the New Orleans native's show than when he's filming his Fat Tuesday episode –can you? (Big thank you to Jessica, from HARRY, for making this all happen.) The purple-lit set is trimmed in Mardi Gras décor and its customary hues: purple, gold, and green, which represent justice, power, and faith, respectively. And there's a whimsical two-storied, iron-balconied building façade behind the big band's remarkable setup channeling the French Quarter. Then, the big band begins to play and out strolls Harry with the suave, affable confidence of a seasoned entertainer and we're all smiling and dancing and clapping. It's a party and we're here to back it up. ("Back It Up" is the name of his new song, and is the dance Harry does.) Today's guests are Girls' Allison Williams, Tiny House Nation's John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin, and Chef John Besh. Over the course of the 1-hour-long show, Harry smoothly transitions from host to singer to interviewer to piano player. He sings his song "Take Her to the Mardi Gras"; tosses the audience a couple of Crawfish Beignets during the cooking segment; climbs into an aerial hoop for the first time and backs it up in there; and ends the show with a marching band procession, in which he's plays the bass drum. As a nice little New-Orleans-touch, HARRY sends the studio audience home with a beignet from Café du Monde and John Besh's cookbook, Besh Big Easy:101 Home Cooked New Orleans Recipes. (The foodie in me is elated!)