New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

The birthplace of jazz: That’s the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in a nutshell, commanding its rightful place across every last weekend of April and first weekend of May.

But if something can be “so much more than jazz,” this festival manages it by celebrating the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. Line up for Blues, R&B, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk, Latin, rock, rap, country, bluegrass, and everything in between.

At its heart, the 8-day cultural feast involves thousands of musicians, cooks, and craftspeople welcoming 400,000 visitors each year. The food-courts-to-end-all-food-courts serve up glorious Louisiana cuisine, and the walkways burst with second-line parades and crafts artisans from the region and around the world. At night, clubs across New Orleans feature de facto afterparties that do the fest justice.

The big names this year? Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Queen Latifah, Anderson.Paak, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jon Batiste, among many others. Of course, there’s the reliably Jazz Festy Trombone Shorty, Bonnie Raitt, Terence Blanchard, Big Freedia, Irma Thomas, and so many more. Plus a special celebration of Jimmy Buffett featuring the Coral Reefers.

It’s stuff of legends, y’all, and everything you’ve heard about it is true. Just go!

Event details subject to change. Click source links for latest information.