New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is a one-of-a-kind experience. The festival includes all genres of music including Jazz, Blues, Rock, Country, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Zydeco, Bluegrass, Jam-Band, Alternative-Rock, Brass Band, and New Orleans’ own Mardi Gras Indians. In 2019 the festival celebrated its 50th anniversary. This year, the festival returned for its fourth year, since the COVID-19 Pandemic. Weekend two began Thursday May 1st and ended Sunday May 4th. Over the two weekends the attendance was 460,000. Headlining the second weekend was Santana (with Cindy Blackman, Karl Perazzo, and Paoli Mejias.) Other bands included Cage the Elephant (Jared Champion,) Luke Combs (Jake Sommers,) Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (Mike McDermott,) Pearl Jam (Matt Cameron,) Lenny Kravitz (Jas Kayser,) My Morning Jacket also played for the first time in nine years. As always, hometown heroes Zigaboo Modeliste, George Porter Jr. (Terrence Houston,) Dumpstaphunk (Deven Trusclair,) Jason Marsalis, The Radiators (Frank Bua,) and Terence Blanchard (Oscar Seaton) also played. Additional performers were Anders Osborne (Chad Cromwell,) Headhunters (Mike Clark and Bill Summers,) and Samantha Fish (Jamie Douglass.) The festival’s annual closer is Trombone Shorty (Joey Peebles.)

The 2026 Jazz Fest is scheduled for April 23 – May 3. For the most up-to-date info, visit www.nojazzfest.com and follow the Festival on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.