2025 Congo Square rhythms festival

March 29-March 30, 2025

It was in Congo Square that enslaved African people gathered on Sunday afternoons to practice their ancestral traditions. Their legacy lives on in our Congo Square Rhythms Festival, a free weekend celebration showcasing the music, food, and dance that made this city known around the world.


When 

The Congo Square Rhythms Festival returns Saturday, March 29- Sunday, March 30, 2025

Where 

Louis Armstrong Park – 701 N. Rampart Street, New Orleans, La 70116


live Music schedule coming soon

Two Full Days of Music 10:45am to 7:30pm 

Video by Andrew Bui

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

About

The Congo Square Rhythms festival sits on the outskirts of the French Quarter in Tremé, celebrating the neighborhood as a key proving ground in the birthplace of jazz!

Free Admission – Donations Accepted 

Admission to the Congo Square Rhythms Festival is free. But we will have donation boxes set up at most of the park entrances. If you want to help us keep our events free, please support us with the donation of your choice. Thank you. 

Class Got Brass

Class Got Brass presented by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation is a program of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation to support music education in the schools while promoting the traditional brass band music of New Orleans. We invite middle schools and high schools in Louisiana to create a New Orleans-style brass band of up to 12 members – and then to enter a competition in the form of a “second-line” parade with a who’s who of celebrity judges.  At stake are more than $50,000 worth of instruments and other supplies for the winning schools’ music programs. Class Got Brass takes place in conjunction with Congo Square Rhythms Fest on Sunday, March 30 in Armstrong Park!

Arts Market 

As always, we will feature two Art Markets, with dozens of local artists showcasing beautiful hand-made artworks and crafts, as well as, imported goods.  Local artisans will be present, offering fine art, photography, jewelry, clothing, and housewares. The arts market gives space to the African diaspora’s influence on New Orleans at the Congo Square Rhythms Festival and features an array of artistic expressions showcasing a blend of African traditions and New Orleans culture. You’ll find traditional African textiles and fabric fashioned into clothing and accessories, Intricately carved wooden sculptures, hand-blown glass sculptures, alongside contemporary mixed-media artworks that explore the African American experience in New Orleans. The market will offer handcrafted jewelry featuring materials like beads and cowrie shells, pottery, quilts, and other textile arts that draw from both African craftsmanship and Southern traditions!

Food Vendors 

Two food markets will emphasize the African diaspora’s influence on New Orleans at the 2025 Congo Square Rhythms Festival. You’ll encounter a vibrant mix of flavors and dishes that color the culinary journey from Africa to the Crescent City. The offerings might include West African jollof rice, Caribbean specialties such as oxtail stew and Jamaican patties which would highlight the cultural exchanges that have enriched Creole cuisine. New Orleans classics like jambalaya, gumbo, étouffée, and red beans and rice would be prominently featured, showcasing the fusion of African, French, Spanish, and Native American influences unique to the region. Other highlights will include sweet treats like beignets or pralines, and other staples of food culture in New Orleans. The food markets will not only celebrate traditional dishes but also contemporary interpretations and street foods, bringing a flavorful experience to festival-goers.

Mardi Gras Indian Battle

The Mardi Gras Indian battle is always a major highlight of Congo Square Rhythms Fest! Three tribes meet in Congo Square to “battle” and then unite in Indian prayer, “Indian Red” and chanting. Check out this video from 2019 shot by the WWOZ crew.


Kids Tent

Congo Square Rhythms Festival will also feature a Kid’s Tent where our youngest fest-goers can get creative from 12 pm to 6 pm with free activities! 


Build and Play

The Blocks are Back!  PlayBuild’s over-sized Imagination Playground “Big Blue Blocks” are fun for kids of all ages.  Kids parents, groups of friends, everyone can join the fun, building and playing together.

About Playbuild Nola Founded in 2012 PlayBuild’s mission is to transform urban spaces into dynamic play and learning environments to empower kids to design their futures.  A 501c3 non-profit, we operate from our home base in Central City, providing hands-on creative play activities to aspiring architects and city builders.  Find us online at www.playbuild.org


Making Dreamcatchers

New Orleans local and creative Michele Mazique will guide participants through creating their very own dream catchers!


ADA Accessibility

For guests who use need ADA accommodations, the festival will have a number of options:

There will be wheelchair drop-off areas on Rampart Street (at the St. Ann Street Gate) and also in the parking lot near the Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts (enter via the Basin Street Gate).

Wheelchair-accessible toilets will be kept locked for your comfort. To obtain the combination for the locks, please visit any of our information booths located at the park entrances, or check with the staff at the official Merchandise Booth.

All of the food booths will have counter heights of no more than 32 inches. There will be an area reserved only for wheelchairs near the sound booth in front of the stage.

No Outside Food or Beverages or Pets

Keep The Festival Safe and Free: No Outside Food, Beverages or Pets
Like all of the Jazz & Heritage Foundation events, the Congo Square Rhythms Festival is completely free and open to the public – part of the community investment made by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Donations, however, are gratefully accepted. If you would like to support the Foundation and help keep this event free, please make the tax-deductible contribution of your choice here.

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.

Although Armstrong Park is usually open to pets, for the safety and comfort of the festival’s large audience, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation asks that guests respect their neighbors and leave companion animals at home (except for service animals, of course).

COVID-19 safety

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation will follow all current safety protocols set by the City of New Orleans which can be found Here. More information to come.

No Recording 

Please: No audio or video recording of our performers. 

Festival Image Gallery

Video capture and livestream of this event is made possible by Jazz & Heritage radio station WWOZ 90.7 FM New Orleans.


Festival Sponsors

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is grateful for the support provided by the sponsors of the Congo Square Rhythms Festivals including Cathead VodkaChillZoneLouisiana Division of the ArtsLouisiana Lottery, WWNOOxbow RumStill Austin Gin, and Urban South Brewery.

Class Got Brass is presented by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation

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.