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| The New Orleans Jazz Festival – Not Just Jazz Music |
By Anne Violette |
Published
02/23/2008
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Louisiana
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New Orleans Jazz Fest
April 25 – 27; May 1 – 4, 2008: The city of New Orleans is back in full swing and this year’s Jazz Festival has a great lineup of musicians scheduled to play live for an audience of thousands of excited fans. The festival returns this year in full 7-day mode, after two years of repair to the city following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. 2008 marks the 39th Anniversary of one of the most celebrated music festivals of the country.
Although the name implies mostly jazz music, the festival also features musical genres like the blues, gospel, country, rock-n-roll, folk and cultural blends. Some of this year’s acts ready to appear include such legends as: Jimmy Buffet; Billy Joel; Stevie Wonder; Tim McGraw; Sheryl Crow; Santana; the Neville Brothers; Al Green; Keyshia Cole; and too many more worth mentioning. In fact, hundreds of musicians will be singing and performing for an audience of hundreds of thousands from all over America.
The live event is anticipated to generate nearly $300 million in necessary revenue to the resilient city of New Orleans. The economic impact from tourism is much needed for the continued recovery process from the damage that all but wiped the city right off the U.S. map. Tickets for the Jazz Festival range in price from the general gate admission open to all adults for $50 and children ages 2 – 11 for only $5; to the VIP Grand Marshall Pass experience that allows exclusive access to the golden circle right in front of the main stages. The Grand Marshall pass sells for $450 - 600 for the first weekend and $500 – 700 for the second weekend with reserved parking. This pass is for people who want close-up and personal views of their favorite singers, with the added luxury of moving from stage to stage. A third option – the Big Chief VIP ticket is extremely limited in number but includes semi-private viewing in special tents, along with reserved parking and entry/re-entry on the site for each day of the ticket. Normally the Big Chief pass sells for a whopping $750 – 900 for the first weekend; and $800 – 1000 for the second.
The Festival takes place at the Fair Grounds Race Course, which turns into a massive Mecca of stimulating entertainment everywhere. Eleven stages will be featured with live music to be performed at each one. Some festival-goers like to mingle at different stages, while others stay put when their favorite act appears. The food is just as much a part of the fun as the music, with over 100 different flavors of cultural cuisines from local vendors of authentic Southern cuisine, from the spicy hot tradition of real Louisiana to the palatable seafood or all-American burgers and sausages. Other sites will hold craft exhibitions in tents throughout the fairgrounds and the cultural celebrations at the main Grandstand.
People look forward to the demonstrations as much as the music. Congo Square celebrates the energy of Africa and its ancestors. Local artisans gather at the Louisiana Marketplace, selling homemade and authentic crafts of a traditional flair. The Louisiana Folklife Village is a chance to experience signature food dishes like the hot and spicy gumbo stew or mouthwatering Cajun cooking. A Native American Village draws attention to the indigenous Indians of ten Louisiana tribes with basket-making demonstrations, carving and dancing. The kids will even have their own tent with songs, music and live audience participation. With so much to do and see at the Festival, it will be nearly impossible to see every attraction within one day, so it may be best to stay for the duration of the weekend. The Jazz Festival takes place between 11 a.m. & 7 p.m. each day of its schedule.
Part of the draw of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is the rich history that it celebrates. It has become very significant to the music industry as the birthplace of jazz, but also to the people who remember the cultural legacy that the festival has inspired. The first Festival took place in April of 1970 and was originally intended to be more of a state fair. It was called the Louisiana Heritage Fair, to be exact. But when Duke Ellington and Mahalia Jackson grabbed a microphone and led a parade of followers around the grounds singing gospel and jazz, the event took its own twist and the idea stuck.
The Jazz Festival became one of the first of its kind, featuring multiple stages with live entertainment for crowds to walk around and be entertained simultaneously. Back then, only about 400 people attended the event. Rapid growth ignited the event to be relocated to the nearby Fair Grounds Racetrack. The Louisiana Fair Grounds continues to be one of the original and oldest racetracks in America with its recent birthday of 136 years. Jazz Festival founder George Wien, a jazz musician himself, had predicted the Festival to become one of meaningful cultural significance to the United States and envisioned large masses of people flocking to the city. Just after the turn of the new millennium, a whopping gathering exceeding 600,000 people broke all past attendance records.
The event has continued growing ever since until the city was destroyed by gale force winds in 2005 with terrible power. Despite a couple of years setbacks in rescheduling and hosting the event, the New Orleans Jazz Festival is anticipated to be one of the largest comebacks in Festival history. Thousands of people who missed the last two years are certainly looking forward to go this year.
The city has attracted incredible entertainers. Many of the featured musicians are big names who rank high on best-seller charts across the country. Shell is the Jazz Festival's major sponsor. The Heritage Festival & Foundation uses proceeds of the event to improve the economic development of New Orleans and propel non-profit organizations to continue community events that promote the mainstay of Jazz music, among other worthy causes.
Although Shell is the main presenting sponsor, there are a number of large corporations on the bill for this praiseworthy event. To purchase tickets, get directions, check the weather and other information related to the New Orleans Jazz Fest, click here. The upcoming 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival promises to be memorable, indeed… appealing not only to music lovers but food, festival and cultural connoisseurs from across America.
Festival will be held rain or shine.
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