The Wait is Over – Jazz Fest 50 Confirms The Rolling Stones Will Headline a History-Making Lineup
Months of speculation ends today with The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s lineup announcement and news that The Rolling Stones will be heading up a massive lineup to celebrate the iconic festival’s 50th anniversary. Scheduled for eight days this year instead of its usual seven, the festival will take place April 25- 28 and May 2-5, with The Stones playing on May 2.
Jazz Fest’s golden celebration will also feature a galaxy of mega-stars including: Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Katy Perry, Dave Matthews Band, Van Morrison, Al Green, Santana, Pitbull, John Fogarty, Gladys Knight, Logic, and Earth, Wind and Fire.
Joining them will be a dazzling undercard that will include luminaries from across the musical spectrum such as Bonnie Raitt, Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock, Tom Jones, Gary Clark, Jr., Alanis Morissette, The Doobie Brothers, Ziggy Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Mavis Staples.
While the most of the fuss is about the big names, this is The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival after all, with an emphasis on heritage and on homegrown acts that make The Crescent City an international treasure. Irma Thomas, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ellis Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, The Radiators, Galactic, Mia Borders, The Revivalists and Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are among the astronomically long list of local legends that will be celebrating the festival at its half-century mark.
Past festival attendance has reached as high as 460,000 people, with this year’s Jazz Fest 50 expected to draw massive crowds once again to Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots, a horseracing track in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans. For more information and how to purchase tickets, click on the links below.