Legendary blues man Keb Mo, veteran soul singers Clarence Carter and Lattimore, blues harmonica ace Sugar Blue, guitar shredder Larry Burton and Baton Rouge's Grammy-winning blues artist Chris Thomas King are some of the great acts who will appear at the seventh annual Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival. 

Lafayette guitar ace Li'l Buck Sinegal, Austin-based blues belter Miss Lavelle White, and Mississippi-by-way-of-Chicago soul man Otis Clay (backed by the Memphis-based Bo-Keys) also are on the bill. New Orleans' own Johnny Sansone, Little Freddie King, Ernie Vincent and J. Monque'D will perform as well.

And making his first appearance at the event is New Orleans-based blues troubadour Spencer Bohren. Returning to New Orleans after a long absence is blues stalwart Ironing Board Sam.

The seventh annual Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, celebrates Southern soul with the best in local and international blues and R&B talent, plus the greatest assemblage of home-style barbecue to be found in New Orleans. It takes place Oct. 12-14 at New Orleans' Lafayette Square Park. Admission is free!

2012 Performance Schedule:

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12
St. Charles Avenue Stage
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Luther Kent & Trick Bag
6:45 pm – 8:00 pm Chris Thomas King

SATURDAY, OCT. 13
Camp Street Stage
11:00 am – 12:00 pm J. Monque’D
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm Little Freddie King
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Johnny Sansone
5:45 pm – 6:45 pm Sugar Blue

St. Charles Avenue Stage
12:00 pm – 1:15 pm Ernie Vincent
2:15 pm – 3:30 pm Li’l Buck Sinegal
4:30 pm – 4:45 pm The Bo-Keys with Otis Clay
6:45 pm – 8:00 pm Keb Mo

SUNDAY, OCT. 14
Camp Street Stage
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Amedee Frederick, "The Creole Blues Man"
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm Spencer Bohren
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Larry Burton
5:45 pm – 6:45 pm Miss Lavelle White

St. Charles Avenue Stage
12:00 pm – 1:15 pm Richard Smith
2:15 pm – 3:30 pm Ironing Board Sam
4:30 pm – 4:45 pm Lattimore
6:45 pm – 8:00 pm Clarence Carter

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is New Orleans' premier showcase of Southern blues and soul - with two stages of music, a dozen vendors of outstanding barbecue and a massive crafts fair featuring hand-made works by artisans from throughout the region.

Keep The Festival Free
Like all of our events, the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is completely free and open to the public - part of the community investment made by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. PLEASE: Except for those with small children or dietary restrictions, please do not bring outside food or beverages to the event - no coolers are permitted.

If you would like to support the Foundation and help keep this event free, please make the tax-deductible contribution of your choice here.

We are pleased to have The Abita Brewing Co. returning as a major sponsor of the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival - meaning that Abita (in various flavors) will be the official beer of the event.

Abita Sports Bar:
It's a Saints bye week, so we won't have the boys in gold and black to cheer on. But we'll still have our famous Abita Sports Bar, a great place to enjoy a beverage and watch all the weekend's sports action on several large-screen TVs.

Public Transit:
Lafayette Square is conveniently located along the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line.

Parking:
Easy parking is available at several surface and indoor parking lots within a few blocks of the festival. The Poydras Center (650 Poydras Street) will offer all-day partking on Saturday and Sunday for a flat fee of $7 per day -- enter the parking garage from Camp Street.

On the Radio:
Community radio station WWOZ 90.7 FM will broadcast most of the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival live from Lafayette Square – over the air and in streaming audio at www.wwoz.org.

Oral History Stage:
As in years past, we will host an Oral History Stage where many of our performers will be interviewed about their lives, influences and music. The interviews will be open to the public, and will take place in the NORD Theater in the ground floor of Gallier Hall – just across St. Charles Avenue from Lafayette Square.

Food Vendors and Menu
Ready for some smokin' barbecue? Even if you thought we couldn't do better than last year, we've put together a menu of food featuring more traditional barbecue than ever, plus a wide assortment of local favorites, barbecue innovations, desserts and vegetarian options. Stay tuned for a complete list of food vendors and menu items.

Art Market:
Come to Blues & BBQ ready to shop. We've organized an expansive arts market - complete with its own Arts Market Cafe with interesting beverages. The complete list of arts market vendors will be available soon.

CDs, T-Shirts and Autographs:
As in the past, the Louisiana Music Factory will host our merchandise operation. Most of our performers will visit the tent to sign autographs immediately after their performances.

T-Shirt Design Contest:
Once again, we're holding a contest to come up with a design for our t-shirt. The winner's artwork will be featuring on the official 2011 Blues & BBQ Fest official t-shirt - and they'll get a $400 cash prize. As they did last year, our friends at Creative Allies are managing the contest. Details on how to enter will be announced soon.

Food, Drinks, Pets, etc.:
The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is a free event. Please help us to keep this and our other events free by patronizing our food and beverage vendors. Except for those with specific dietary restrictions or special needs, we ask that you not bring coolers or ice chests with outside food and beverages.Please respect our other guests by not bringing pets to the festival. Thank you.

No-Chairs Perimteter
Due to the heavy use of camp chairs by many fans in close proximity to our stages, this year we are forced to institute a "no chairs" perimeter of 75 feet from both stages. We appreciate that many of you like to bring chairs to the festival and set up camp in front of the stages. But this prevents many of our other guests from having the opportunity to get a closer look at the onstage action. We thank you in advance for your understanding.

No Recording:
Please, no audio or video recording of any performances at the festival.

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is a presentation of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell. The Foundation uses the proceeds from Jazz Fest, and other funds, for year-round programs in the areas of education, economic development and cultural events. For more about the Foundation and what we do, visit us online at www.jazzandheritage.org.

The 2012 Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Louisiana Division of the Arts.

The 2012 Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival also is supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. The grant is administered through the Arts Council of New Orleans.