- 475,000 people attended the New Orlean Jazz Festival in 2022
- Almost 700 music acts are hosted by the festival
- New Orleans and its surrounds benefit from $400 million from the festival
- New Orleans took a $904 million economic hit from festival cancellations 2020-2021
- The 2023 Jazz Festival has 15 stages
- 2023 is the 52nd New Orlean Jazz Festival
- Shell sponsors the Festival
With the headline acts having been announced for the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, fans are snapping up tickets. The festival will run from Friday 28 April to Sunday 7 May 2023.
The annual 10-day festival not only showcases traditional and contemporary jazz music but also the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. Music styles include R&B, the Blues, Cajun, gospel, Zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, Latin, folk, rap, rock, country and bluegrass.
Want to learn more about the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival? We’ve got all the 2022 and 2023 facts, figures and trends for what’s become a world-renowned event on thousands of music lovers’ calendars.
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A Triumphant 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Comeback
As the festival was cancelled for two years due to Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021, its return in 2022 delighted jazz and music lovers. In the end, 475,000 people attended what has become the biggest jazz festival in the US in 2022.
The city of New Orleans has been closely involved with the festival over the years in an effort to celebrate the city’s legacy as the birthplace of jazz. Today, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival hosts almost 700 musicians and bands, bringing in $400 million to the city and surrounds.
Currently, the Jazz Festival draws close to 500,000 visitors to the historic venue at Fair Grounds Race Course in the Gentilly neighbourhood. The Jazz & Heritage Foundation runs and manages the festival. The foundation uses Jazz Fest’s net profits to give back to the community by sponsoring many programmes aimed at growing New Orleans’ cultural economy.
Not everyone knows the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is sponsored by the Dutch Shell oil company. While many detractors decry the price of tickets, proponents argue that “the cause” is worth supporting as it is for the greater good.
Now that we know how the festival is run and organised, let’s dig into some of the figures around the festival and its economic impact.
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Figures
The 2020-21 cancellations were emotionally devastating for festival organisers, and local businesses both big and small － not to mention its thousands of fans. The cancellations brought enormous economic shocks for all the bars, restaurants and music venues that are dependent on the huge influx of Jazz Fest visitors and their spending. Figures for the economic hit to the city of New Orleans and its communities in 2020-2021 range from $700 million to $904 million.
Covid-19 was the straw that broke the camel’s back just as the city had almost recovered from the massive devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Some observers have commented that organising the 2022 festival was even more difficult than the post-Catrina festival. The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in vendor changes as people went out of business and rising costs and supply chain complications. So, when the festival made its comeback in 2022, fans flocked to the birthplace of jazz. A year later fans and organisers are looking forward to a bumper New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2023.
2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Ed Sheeran, Dead & Company and Lizzo are set to top the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Additional acts include Mumford & Sons, Santana, The Lumineers, Jill Scott, Trombone Shorty and Kane Brown. Santana, Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Herbie Hancock and Wu-Tang Clan with The Soul Rebels will also be playing.
Other artists on the bill are Jon Batiste, H.E.R., Steve Miller Band, Gary Clark, Jr., Tedeschi Trucks Band, Kenny Loggins, Leon Bridges, Jazmine Sullivan, Ludacris, Mavis Staples, Ne-Yo, Irma Thomas, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Buddy Guy, Galactic, The Revivalists, Big Freedia, Melissa Etheridge, Los Lobos, Tom Jones, Tank and the Bangas.
2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Ticket Prices
There are a variety of ticket permutations ranging from single-day passes, and general admission to 3-day passes and VIP passes.
First weekend single-day passes are priced as follows:
- Early bird day pass ($80)
- Advance ticket ($85)
- Child ticket ($5)
- Gate Price ($95)
Second weekend single-day tickets are the same across all categories.
The 3-day weekend pass for the April weekend ranges from $225-$240 (early bird and advance tickets). The same 3-day pass for the May weekend will set you back $275-$290 respectively.
New Orleans locals get a Thursday discount on 4 May when the gate price drops to $50. Admission allows access to all the day’s performances together with food and beverages, craft, and exhibit stalls.
2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Stages
Festival Stage: Main Stage
Gentilly Stage: Secondary Main Stage
Congo Square Stage: Afro-centric and World Music
Blues Tent: Blues Music
WWOZ Jazz Tent: Contemporary Jazz Music
Gospel Tent: Gospel Musicians and Performers
Kids Tent: Children’s Music and Performances
Sheraton New Orleans Fais Do Do Stage: Cajun & Zydeco Music
Jazz & Heritage Stage: Mardi Gras Indians + Brass Band Performances
Economy Hall Tent: Traditional New Orleans Jazz
Lagniappe Stage: A potpourri of sound and style
AARP Rhythmpourium: A small stage and wine bar for jazz, blues, rock
Cultural Exchange Pavilion: Everything from blues, gospel and Latin to international sounds
Folklife Stage: Held in the Louisiana Folklife Village, Louisian’s cultural traditions are celebrated
Food Heritage Stage: Located in the Grandstand near the Lagniappe Stage.
Now that we know more about the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and its importance to the city and wider Louisiana state, it probably won’t be long before the festival’s attendance outstrips its record of 650,000 attendees in 2001. That was the year the festival was themed around and celebrated the centennial of Louis Armstrong. The attendance figure topped 1969’s Woodstock of 400,000 attendees.
And if you are after something less expensive and slightly smaller, there is the 2023 French Quarter Festival. The event draws thousands of revellers to the historic French Quarter and downtown riverfront. This year the free 4-day event runs from 13 April-16. Ani DiFranco, Louisiana’s LeRoux, Big Freedia, the Soul Rebels and Irma Thomas are the headline acts.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/08/09/new-orleans-jazz-festival-canceled/
https://www.vianolavie.org/2021/08/04/covid-19-and-its-effects-on-new-orleans-festivals/
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/1095442555/echoes-of-2006-jazz-fest-returns-to-new-orleans-for-2022
Nathan has always been captivated by numbers and patterns. With a Master’s degree in Statistics, he’s honed his skills to decipher complex data sets and discern market trends.
Over the past decade, Nathan has worked with various firms compiling and analyzing industry spending figures to forecast market movements.