“Blues is not just about the bad times; it’s about the healing spirit.” -Taj Mahal

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, established in 2006, continues New Orleans’ historic role in making the blues and R&B among the most influential sounds in the world. The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival presents many of the top performers from southern Louisiana and Mississippi, plus delicious food and unique visual art.

This event is free and open to the public!

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About

Presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the 18th annual Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival features three days filled with live blues and jazz performances, a local art market, and some of the best BBQ vendors throughout the Crescent City! The festival takes place at the beautiful Lafayette Square Park, which is bordered by Poydras Street and St. Charles Avenue. The park is located across from the historical Gallier Hall, the former City Hall, and another great site for music throughout the years. Just like in the past years, there will be two stages of music, a huge arts market, lots of BBQ!

VIP

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is free and open to the public, but to enhance your festival experience, VIP is available for purchase. Indulge in perks like up-front seating, access to a private hospitality lounge, complimentary drinks, and more! The VIP Experience is the best way to enjoy soulful sounds of blues and savory BBQ delights.

Arts Market 

We will host a huge arts market, highlighting the best local and regional makers of hand-crafted artworks and home furnishings. As at all of our events, we’ll feature some of the best artisans in the region selling handmade art, jewelry, and other crafts.  

Food Vendors 

Once again, we’re going overboard with a huge spread of great barbecue, representing several regional styles, with a fresh emphasis on Louisiana, since New Orleans has seen a surge in barbecue restaurants in the time since we started this festival! And yes, it’s a barbecue festival – but we will have some options for vegetarians, vegans, and those who eat gluten-free. 

Volunteer

Interested in being part of this amazing festival? Join the krewe and volunteer! We are looking for enthusiastic and friendly volunteers who know how to pass a good time. Click below to check out available volunteer opportunities!

Auction

Every year, the Foundation auctions off a customized guitar by Painted Axe, signed by the festival’s performers. Proceeds from this auction will benefit the Foundation’s programs, including music education initiatives in New Orleans.

listen live

Jazz & Heritage community radio station WWOZ New Orleans 90.7 FM will broadcast the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival live from Lafayette Square – over the air and in streaming video at www.wwoz.org.

CDs, T-SHIRTS, AND AUTOGRAPHS

As always, the Louisiana Music Factory will be on festival grounds to sell CDs and other merchandise. Many of our performers will visit the tent to sign autographs immediately after their performances. We’ll also have official Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival t-shirts available in the Jazz & Heritage Merchandise Tent!

Media/Press

Media/Photo pass credentials are provided to those who are on assignment for established media outlets or who have a documented history of publishing photos in mainstream media outlets.  To apply for a Media/Photo pass, please click HERE.

Keep the Festival Safe and Free: No Outside Food, Beverages, or Pets

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.

We realize that Lafayette Square is usually open to pets. But for the safety and comfort of our large audience, we ask that you respect your neighbors and leave your companion animals at home (except for service animals, of course).

No Smoking 

The City of New Orleans has a prohibition on smoking, which doesn’t cover outdoor spaces in most of the city, but it does cover Lafayette Square. So, please, no smoking of cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, and no vaping.

Recording 

Please: No audio or video recording of our performers.

Parking

There is parking in the Poydras Center (650 Poydras Street) for a flat fee, and there are many other street-level parking lots in the area.

Public Transit

Lafayette Square is conveniently located along the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line (map) and the Magazine Street (No. 11) bus route (map).

No Chairs perimeter

Due to the heavy use of camp chairs by many fans in close proximity to our stages, 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.

ADA Access

We provide reserved areas at both stages for our guests who use wheelchairs, and a special deck with views of both stages is reserved for our guests in wheelchairs. There is an ADA drop-off area on Camp Street where vehicles carrying passengers with special needs may unload. We also provide ADA-compliant toilets in all three of our locations for Port-O-Lets (at the corners of Camp and North Maestri streets, Camp Street and South Maestri streets, and St. Charles at South Maestri). The ADA toilets are kept locked for cleanliness; to access them, please visit our Foundation Information booth and we’ll provide you with the combination, or ask any of the greeters who are seated at the donation boxes at three entry points around the park.

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Our sponsors

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is grateful for support provided by the sponsors of the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, including Cathead Vodka, Urban South Brewery, ChillZone, Big Easy Cruise, National Endowment for the Arts, Louisiana Division of the Arts, Goldfarb Financial, Louisiana Lottery, and WWNO, 89.9. Additional support comes from Realcycle, Element, and Bikeeasy.

With additional support from

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The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is 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.