Jazz Fest 2012 Cubes are here! Print the complete Jazz Fest schedule.
JAZZ FEST AT-A-GLANCE
- Book a hotel in New Orleans early! Hotels in the French Quarter and around New Orleans sell out.
- Jazz Fest is always held the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May.
- Jazz Fest takes place at the Fair Grounds Race Course, the third oldest racetrack in America.
- The festival features 13 stages and more than 60 food vendors spread across the Fair Grounds' 145 acres.
- The "heritage" celebration includes fairway marketplaces with indigenous handcrafts and cultural exhibits.
- See the complete list of performers and dates in the Music Lineup tabs.
- Local tip: New Orleans turns into a hotbed of musical activity around Jazz Fest time. The schedules at music clubs and bars across town are jammed with great local and touring musicians who aren't on the Jazz Fest lineup. ChazFest, a local music festival featuring New Orleans musicians, is held between Jazz Fest weekends – on Wednesday, May 4, 2012.
Jazz Fest has grown from a humble 350 attendees in 1970, when the festival was held in Congo Square, to record-breaking crowds year after year. Hundreds of thousands of music fans head to New Orleans the last weekend in April and first weekend in May for what Life Magazine called "the country's best music festival" and Wall Street Journal described as "a wider, deeper lineup of essential American musical styles than any festival in the nation." The festival features 13 stages and showcases music from just about every genre you can imagine, including jazz, gospel, folk, Cajun, zydeco, blues, R & B, rock, funk, African and Latin Caribbean.
And, because this is New Orleans, food is a major draw at Jazz Fest. The festival stretches far beyond the typical carnival fare in every way. A select group of more than 60 vendors sell heritage eats and local favorites, from the famous cochon de lait po-boy and Crawfish Monica to regional favorites jambalaya and jama-jama.
Jazz Fest stages
| Gospel Tent: Gospel groups and singers Blues Tent: Blues Jazz Tent: Contemporary jazz Acura Stage: Main stage for headlining acts Congo Square Stage: Afro-centric and world music Fais Do-Do Stage: Cajun and zydeco Gentilly Stage: Secondary stage for headlining acts | Economy Hall Tent: Traditional New Orleans jazz Lagniappe Stage: An eclectic mix of music genres Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage: Interviews and panel discussions with musicians and music historians Jazz & Heritage Stage: Mardi Gras Indians and New Orleans brass bands Zataran's Food Heritage Stage: Cooking demonstrations |
Swamp Tours
Riverboat Cruises
French Quarter Tours
Plantation Tours
Garden District Tours
Cemetery Tours
April 27-29 Music Lineup
Friday April 27, 2012 Performers• The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion
• Bon Iver
• Steel Pulse
• Buckwheat Zydeco
• GIVERS
• Zebra
• Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
• Gomez
• The Texas Tornados feat. Flaco Jiménez, Augie Myers, and Shawn Sahm
• The Dixie Cups
• Cubano Be, Cubano Bop: Poncho Sanchez & His Latin Band feat. Terence Blanchard
• Chuck Leavell & Friends with special guest Bonnie Bramlett
• Irma Thomas’ Tribute to Mahalia Jackson
• Eric Lindell
• The Classic New Orleans Revue feat. Frankie Ford, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, and Robert “Barefootin” Parker with Blue Eyed Soul
• James Andrews & the Crescent City Allstars
• BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet
• Butch Thompson
• Kirk Joseph’s Backyard Groove
• Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band
• Leyla Mccalla
• Sasha Masakowski
• Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes
• Slavic Soul Party!
• Jamil Sharif
• Stephanie Jordan Big Band
• Leah Chase
• The Revivalists
• Lil’ Buck Sinegal Blues Band
• Shades of Praise: New Orleans Interracial Gospel Choir
• Tim Laughlin
• Dukes of Dixieland
• Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie
•Betty Winn & One A-Chord
• Young Pinstripe Brass Band
• Dee-1
• Fredy Omar con su Banda
• Kim Carson & the Enablers
• Sammy Rimington International Band
• The Electrifying Crown Seekers
• Guitar Lightnin’ Lee & the Thunder Band
• Ivoire Spectacle feat. Seguenon Kone
• Wimberly Family Gospel Singers
• Henry Gray & the Cats
• Real Untouchables Brass Band
• James Rivers Movement
• Goldman Thibodeaux & the Lawtell Playboys
• Louis Ford & His Dixie Flairs
• Comanche Hunters and Semolian Warriors Mardi Gras Indians
• Cindy Scott
• Golden Voices Community Choir
• Zulu and Big Nine Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs
• The Boyz Singers and Dancers
• Traditional Dance by Asociacion de Peruanos en Louisiana
• Northwestern University Jazz Ensemble
• Black Foot Hunters and Black Mohawk Mardi Gras Indians
• Beth Patterson & Potent Bathers
• Miss Claudia & her Biergartners
• Alana Villavaso
• Reverend Jermaine Landrum & the Abundant Praise Revival Choir
• Brass Band Throwdown feat. Behrman, Fischer, and Kate Middleton Bands
• The Bester Singers
• The Dynamic Smooth Family Gospel Singers
• GrayHawk presents Native American Lore and Tales
• New Orleans School of Circus Arts & I.S.L.
• Geronimo Hunters and Creole Osceolas Mardi Gras Indians
• Keep N It Real and We Are One Social Aid & Pleasure
• Dillard University Jazz Ensemble
Saturday April 28, 2012 Performers
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• Cee Lo Green
• Feist
• Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
• Bobby Rush
• Dave Koz
• Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra
• Carolina Chocolate Drops
• Soul Rebels
• Israel Houghton and New Breed
• Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys
• Walter "Wolfman" Washington & the Roadmasters
• Cheikh Lô of Senegal
• Voice of the Wetlands Allstars
• Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas
• The New Orleans Bingo! show
• Tribute to Wardell Quezergue feat. Jean Knight, The Dixie Cups, Robert “Barefootin” Parker, and Tony Owens
• Pine Leaf Boys
• Meschiya Lake & the Little Big Horns
• Khris Royal & Dark Matter
• Dr. Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band feat. Thais Clark
• Luther Kent
• Shamarr Allen & the Underdawgs
• Roddie Romero & the Hub-City Allstars
• Evan Christopher
• Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue
• Midnite Disturbers
• Savoy Music Center of Eunice Saturday Cajun Jam
• Heritage Hall Jazz Band feat. Jewel Brown
• Storyville Stompers Brass Band
• Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries Mass Choir
• The Gospel According to Jazz feat. BJ Crosby, Judy Davis, Danon Smith, and Yolanda Windsay
• Jeremy Lyons with Members of Morphine
• Peter Martin
• Empress Hotel
• Lars Edegran and the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra
• Paulin Brothers Brass Band
• Kristin Diable & the City
• D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces
• The Courtyard Kings
• Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians
• City of Love Music & Worship Arts
• Brother Tyrone & the Mindbenders
• High Ground Drifters Bluegrass Band
• Tom McDermott
• Kevin Bryan
• DJ Soul Sister
• Bamboula 2000
• Pastor Jai Reed
• Marc Stone
• Golden Comanche and Seminoles Mardi Gras Indians
• Tonia Powell & the Left Field Band
• SUBR Jazzy Jags
• Cameron Dupuy & the Cajun Troubadours
• 101 Runners
• Tonia Scott & the Anointed Voices
• Loyola University Jazz Ensemble
• Javier Tobar and Elegant Gypsy
• The Jones Sisters
• Young Band Nation Blues Project
• RRAAMS Drum and Dance
• Archdiocese of New Orleans Gospel Choir
• Josh Kagler & Harmonistic Praise Crusade
• New Wave Brass Band
• Nine Times Men, Single Ladies and Single Men Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs
• Ashe Cultural Arts Center Kuumba Institute
• Delgado Community College Jazz Ensemble
• The Heavenly Melodies Gospel Singers
• Wild Mohicans and Red, White & Blue Mardi Gras Indians
• The Boyz Singers and Dancers
• Muggivan School of Irish Dance
• Dumaine Gang, Divine Ladies, Family Ties, and Men of Class Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs
• Puppet Arts Theater
Sunday April 29, 2012 Performers
• Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
• Al Green
• Dr. John & the Lower 911
• Janelle Monae
• Pete Fountain
• Yolanda Adams
• Iron & Wine
• Cowboy Mouth
• Dianne Reeves
• Tab Benoit
• Sonny Landreth
• Gary Clark Jr.
• Papa Grows Funk
• C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band
• Nicholas Payton XXX
• Ellis Marsalis
• Lindigo of Reunion Island feat. Fixi of France
• Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians
• Ironin’ Board Sam
• Evelyn Turrentine-Agee
• Debo Band: Ethiopian Groove Collective
• Corey Harris & Phil Wiggins
• Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots’ International Accordian Summit
• New Orleans Klezmer Allstars
• Treme Brass Band
• Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys
• Tribute to Alex Chilton feat. Dave Pirner, Alex McMurray, Susan Cowsill, and Rene Coman
• Los Po-Boy-Citos
• The Batiste Brothers
• Victor Goines
• Washboard Rodeo
• Leo Jackson & the Melody Clouds
• Bill Summers & Jazalsa
• Brice Miller & the Mahogany Brass Band
• Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone
• Ernie Vincent & the Top Notes
• Golden Star Hunters Mardi Gras Indians
• Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders
• Lionel Ferbos & the Palm Court Jazz Band
• Kirk Joseph’s Tuba Tuba
• Gospel Soul Children
• Panorama Jazz Band
• Hadley J. Castille Family & the Sharecroppers Cajun Band
• Pat Casey & the New Sound
• Erika Flowers
• Clive Wilson's New Orleans Serenaders with Butch Thompson
• Morning Star Baptist Church Mass Choir
• Spencer Bohren
• Chris Clifton & His All-Stars
• Gospel Diva Lois Dejean
• Carrollton Hunters, Big Chief Goodman & the Flaming Arrows, and Ninth Ward Hunters Mardi Gras Indians
• Johnette Downing
• Tornado Brass Band
• Big Steppers, Untouchables, and Furious Five Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs
• E'Dana & Company
• N’Fungola Sibo West African Dance Company
• Ayla Miller Band
• Adella Adella the Storyteller
• Franklin Avenue Baptist Church Mass Choir
• Heritage School of Music Band
• Kai Knight’s Silhouette Dance Ensemble
• Olympia Aid, New Look, First Division, and Secondline Jammers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs
• N.O.C.C.A. Jazz Ensemble
• Sunpie Barnes presents Louisiana Creole Music
• Ninth Ward Navajo, Black Eagles and Shawee Mardi Gras Indians
• The Boyz Singers and Dancers
• Bishop Sean Elder & the Mount Hermon Baptist Church Mass Choir
