NEW ORLEANS — The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival will mark its 20th anniversary Oct. 9-11 with three days of live music, food and art at Lafayette Square.
The free festival, presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, will feature 18 performances across two stages, with headliners including Grammy Award winner Ruthie Foster, New Orleans singer and guitarist Samantha Fish and Booker T. Jones, a multi-Grammy Award winner and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
Other performers include George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners, Cedric Burnside, Little Freddie King, Johnny Sansone, Erica Falls & Vintage Soul, Mia Borders and Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience featuring Marcella Simien.
“The Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival is a long-standing monument of culture and community in New Orleans,” said Sarita M. Carriere, Interim Executive Director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. “Its resilience over the last 20 years is a testament to the enduring power of music, traditions, and the spirit of the city that brings people together.”
The festival begins Friday, Oct. 9, with performances from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Music continues from 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the St. Charles Avenue and Camp Street stages. The festival will also be livestreamed by WWOZ 90.7 FM.
20 Years of Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival Growth
The festival was launched in Lafayette Square in 2006 as part of the Foundation’s response to New Orleans’ recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Originally known as the New Orleans Blues Festival, it was created in part to provide work for Louisiana musicians and culture bearers and help rebuild the city’s cultural economy.
The two-day festival drew approximately 5,000 attendees in its early years, compared with nearly 20,000 now. The event expanded to include a third evening in 2011 and now opens Friday evening followed by full days of programming Saturday and Sunday.
Tribute to Scott Aiges
Saturday’s programming will include an All-Star Tribute to Scott Aiges, the Foundation’s former Director of Programs, Marketing, and Communications, who died earlier this year.
Aiges worked for the Foundation from 2007 to 2019 and played a role in developing and growing its free community festivals, including the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival. His work focused in part on creating opportunities for musicians and increasing the visibility of Louisiana artists. Musicians participating in the tribute have not yet been announced.
Food, Art and Festival Extras
The anniversary festival will also include an Oral History Stage featuring live interviews with Linda Gail Lewis, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, George Porter Jr. and Booker T. Jones exploring Southern music traditions and history.
Beyond the music, the festival will feature more than 20 local artisans and 14 food and pastry vendors. Food offerings will range from barbecue and seafood to Vietnamese and other international cuisine, with participating vendors including Cochon King BBQ, Central City BBQ & Las Cruces Tex Mex, Magasin Vietnamese Cafe, Que Pasta Nola and Keyala’s Pralines.
Arts Market vendors will offer ceramics, glassware, clothing, jewelry, portraits, skin care products and other handmade goods.
General admission is free. VIP passes, priced at $315 plus taxes and fees, are sold out.
The festival will also hold its 2026 Painted Axe Guitar Auction to benefit the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s community and educational programs. Artist Michael Gauf has hand-painted a Gretsch Electromatic Jet commemorating the festival’s 20th anniversary, which will be autographed by the 2026 performing artists. Bidding runs from Sept. 28 through 6:00 p.m. Oct. 11.
