New Orleans Jazz Fest packs a wallop in 40th year
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year with a star-studded lineup including Aretha Franklin , Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor and Sugarland.
New Orleans favorite son Wynton Marsalis will headline the fest’s first day, April 24, performing the epic composition “Congo Square” with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring Yacub Addy and Odadaa!.
Joe Cocker, Ben Harper, Tony Bennett, Kings of Leon, Neville Brothers, Wilco, Bonnie Raitt, Allen Toussaint, The O’Jays, Erykah Badu, Dr. John, and Earth, Wind & Fire are also among the hundreds of artists scheduled to perform across multiple stages during the seven-day festival, which runs April 24-26 and April 30-May 3.
Tickets are currently on sale at the festival’s website and through Ticketmaster (LiveDaily’s parent company) and, for the first time, a limited number of discount weekend packages are available for $105 to $140. Most single-day passes are $40 in advance and $50 at the gate, and children ages 2-11 will be admitted for $5. VIP packages running from $550 to $1,000 are also available.
Since 1970, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival has showcased artists from a wide range of genres including jazz, gospel, blues, rock, pop, R&B, Cajun and zydeco.
“From day one in 1970, the goal of the festival has remained unchanged as Jazz Fest continues to celebrate the living breathing culture of New Orleans and Louisiana,” event producer/director Quint Davis said in a statement. “While the size and impact of the festival have dramatically increased, we have never lost sight of the original goal of presenting this unique culture to the world through music, the finest in local cuisine, and the sheer celebration of life.”
The long-running festival, which draws tens of thousands of attendees to the New Orleans Fairgrounds every spring, returned to its full seven days of programming this year following 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.
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December 17th, 2008 by Ragin Cajun /
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