The 2016 dates are set: April 22 - May 1. New Orleans already expects a stampede of pilgrims for this seven-day party, which unfolds over successive weekends in April and May.

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell has music on numerous stages, plus interviews, parades, animation for the children, food, crafts, and demonstrations.

NEW ORLEANS JAZZ FESTIVAL

From the very beginning the New Orleans Jazz Festival was envisioned as an important event that would have great cultural significance and popular appeal.

New Orleans Jazz Festival was the culmination of years of discussions and efforts by city leaders who wanted to create an event worthy of the city’s legacy as the birthplace of jazz.

A couple of other festivals were held in the years leading up to the first New Orleans Jazz Festival, but those events, different in format, did not take hold as the Jazz & Heritage Festival would.

Headliners are released in January, but even now you can plan on a rich buffet of music from New Orleans and Louisiana.

giant pop headliners

In 2015, Jazz Fest garnished the public with some giant pop headliners, including Elton John, The Who, Ed Sheeran, Pitbull, Jimmy Buffett, No Doubt, T.I., Tony Bennett paired with Lady Gaga, Keith Urban and Wilco.

The Festival is a major tourist destination, with economic importance for New Orleans rivaled only by Mardi Gras which takes place on the 9th of February 2016.

New Orleans Jazz Festival brings to the city $300 million annually which is welcomed with open arms after Hurricane Katrina.

Hotels and travel: Jazz Fest usually secures preferred rates for visitors at a number of New Orleans hotels.

City buses will drop you three blocks from to the gates on the Esplanade Avenue side of the Fair Grounds. Streetcars also provides decent service, dropping passengers at Beauregard Circle near City Park.