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The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is the major event of the year in musical and cultural life of the city. New Orleans is considered the birthplace of the jazz, so no wonder that this important for jazz lovers event takes place here, in New Orleans.

The Festival is a 10 day cultural and music event. It usually falls on the last weekend in April and first weekend in May. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival consists of two main components: the Louisiana Heritage Fair and the Evening Concerts. The Louisiana Heritage Fair showcases over 600 musicians on 12 stages, as well as Louisiana couisine, crafts and art. The Evening Concerts take place at different venues around New Orleans.

The first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival took place in Congo Square (then known as Beauregard Square) in April of 1970. That time, only about 350 people attended the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, about half the number of musicians and other participants in the event. But the Festival, which became known as "Jazz Fest" almost immediately, had a great success. The event outgrew Congo Square, and by the end of the decade, in 1980, more than 300,000 people visited the Heritage Fair, evening concerts and workshops.

Over the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has received many honors and become very popular. Pollstar magazine named Jazz Fest the Festival of the Year four times. The 2004 event marks the 35th anniversary of Jazz Fest, which the Wall Street Journal says "showcases a wider, deeper lineup of essential American musical styles than any festival in the nation…” and which Life magazine has called “the country’s very best music festival."

The Jazz Fest musicians perform on a total of 12 stages, 7 stages and 5 tents with stages in them.
They are as follows: Acura, the largest and hosts the bigger name acts, the Allison Miner Music Heritage stage, the Sprint stage, the Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do-Do stage, which usually has Louisiana music performers, Congo Square, where international performers play, the Lagniappe Stage, or a "little something extra" and the Native American Village Stage. The tents are as follows; Popeye's Blues Tent, Bellsouth/WWOZ Jazz Tent, Rhodes Gospel Tent, Economy Hall Tent, and the Kid's Tent.

The schedule of performance times and stages of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival are released in Mid March. The format of the schedules look like blocks, so they're called "the cubes".

Jazz Fest Tickets

Tickets for Jazz Fest go on sale in mid-February. Tickets are available through any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets are also available at the gate, but they are cheaper if purchased in advance. Generally, ticket prices are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate for all-day admission. Ticket prices to the Evening Concerts range from $25.00 - $65.00.