NEW ORLEANS – French Quarter Festivals, Inc. announced details about the 34th Annual French Quarter Festival presented by Chevron today. The largest showcase of Louisiana music in the world will take place April 6-9. Reps said festival-goers can expect more than 60 of New Orleans' finest restaurants at 'The World's Largest Jazz Brunch,' music from more than 1,700 world-class, local musicians and more than a dozen special events.
French Quarter Festival presented by Chevron has been called the "one thing to do in Louisiana" by the Huffington Post and voted "Best Festival in New Orleans" by New Orleans Magazine readers.
What started as a neighborhood festival and "locals' event" has grown into the largest event in Louisiana behind Mardi Gras, with an average economic impact of approximately $190 million.
More Than 20 New Artists, Aaron Neville To Make Festival Debut
French Quarter Festival organizers welcome more than 20 new acts to the 2017 festival. On Locals' Lagniappe Day, Thursday, April 6, Aaron Neville will make his debut on the riverfront Abita Beer Stage. The performance is presented by musician sponsor, AOS Interior Environments. Aaron Neville is synonymous with New Orleans, celebrated throughout the world as part of the legendary Neville Brothers and as a Grammy-winning solo artist. He has had numerous Platinum albums and Top 10 hits. His most recent album, ‘Apache,’ was released in July 2016.
Other debuts include: Cedric Watson and Bijou Creole, Cole Williams Band, Cupid, Messy Cookers Jazz Band, Mo'Fess, Love Evolution, Perdido Jazz Band, T'Monde, Valerie Sassyfrass and more.
Jack Daniel's Stage Grows With Four Days Of Music In New Location, Live Music On More Than 20 Stages
Year after year, French Quarter Festival is voted "local favorite" while also attracting a tremendous out-of-town audience, festival reps said. A huge part of the appeal is that attendees get a true and authentic New Orleans experience – a broad range of Louisiana artists and a diverse variety of musical styles and genres, they said. Since 1984, French Quarter Festival has been committed to featuring New Orleans' finest artists every day of the festival, on stages all over the French Quarter. The tradition continues in 2017 with the expansion of the Jack Daniel's Stage, which moves from Bourbon Street to JAX Brewery. The stage will have entertainment all four days of festival. Artists include: Otra, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, King James & The Special Men, Soul Rebels, and Corey Henry's Treme Funktet. French Quarter Festival 2017 will also bring a stage to KIPP McDonogh 15 School for the Creative Arts located at 721 St Philip St. The stage's lineup will be released in March.
The GE Digital Big River Stage returns with every genre from bounce to rockabilly. Artists include Alex McMurray, Brass-A-Holics, Partners N Crime & The Big Easy Band featuring DJ Jubilee, and Rory Danger & the Danger Dangers. The stage, which will have music all four days of festival, has more than 20 bands performing.
The always-popular Popeyes Brass Band Jam will bring three full days of brass bands to the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint. Performers include Leroy Jones' Original Hurricane Brass Band, The Original Pinettes Brass Band, Red Wolf Brass Band, Storyville Stompers Brass Band and many more.
The musical lineup includes:
*Festival debuts
Thursday, April 6
Aaron Neville *
Bag of Donuts
Benny Grunch and the Bunch
Big Easy Playboys
Brass-A-Holics
Brother Tyrone & The Mindbenders
Cedric Watson and Bijou Creole *
Cha Wa
Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band
Darcy Malone and The Tangle
Dr. Michael White
Ellis Marsalis
Evan Christopher's Clarinet Road
Ingrid Lucia
Joe Krown
John "Papa" Gros
Lena Prima and Band
Love Evolution *
Mahogany Brass Band
Mia Borders
Mo'Fess
Naughty Professor
Otra
PresHall Brass
The PorterTrio
The Whiskey Penguins
Waylon Thibodeaux Band
Friday, April 7
Alexis & the Samurai
Amanda Shaw
Audacity Brass Band
Banu Gibson and New Orleans Hot Jazz
Big Sam's Funky Nation
Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band
Cedryl Ballou & the Zydeco Trendsetters *
Charmaine Neville
Corey Henry's Treme Funktet
Cullen Landry and the Midnight Streetcar Band featuring Al "Carnival Time" Johnson
Cupid
Dayna Kurtz
Debauche
Fredy Omar con su Banda
G and The Swinging Three *
Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue
Gina Brown & Anutha Level
Higher Heights Band Revue featuring Zion Trinity, Raging Rebelz and Early Brooks, Jr.
Hot Stuff featuring Becky Allen
Irma Thomas, Soul Queen of New Orleans
Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes
Kid Merv and All That Jazz
Lagniappe Brass Band
Leroy Jones' Original Hurricane Brass Band
Louisiana LeRoux *
Lynn Drury Band
MainLine
Marc Stone
Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns
Miss Sophie Lee
Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles
The Nayo Jones Experience *
New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings
Organic Trio
Panorama Jazz Band
Partners N Crime & The Big Easy Bounce Band featuring DJ Jubilee
Shannon Powell Traditional All-Star Band
Storyville Stompers Brass Band
Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots
Susan Cowsill
The Dixie Cups
The Mid-City Aces *
The Tin Men
Tonya Boyd-Cannon *
Topsy Chapman and Solid Harmony
Tuba Skinny
Washboard Rodeo *
Saturday, April 8
Alex McMurray
Andre Bohren
Barbara Shorts and Blue Jazz
Big Chief Bo Dollis, Jr. & the Wild Magnolias
Big Frank & Lil Frank and the Dirty Old Men *
Chris Ardoin & Nu Step
Christian Serpas & Ghost Town
Colin Lake
Dash Rip Rock
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers
Erica Falls
Gregory Agid Quartet *
Honey Island Swamp Band
Hot Rod Lincoln
John Rankin
Kenneth Terry Jazz Band *
Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers
King James & The Special Men
Lars Edegran's New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra
Lawrence Cotton Legendary Experience
Lillian Boutté & Gumbo Zaire
Lost Bayou Ramblers
Louis Ford and His New Orleans Flairs
Messy Cookers Jazz Band *
Muevelo
Naydja CoJoe
New Orleans Classic Jazz Orchestra
New Orleans Moonshiners
New Orleans Nightcrawlers
New Orleans Swamp Donkeys
Orange Kellin's New Orleans Deluxe Orchestra
Perdido Jazz Band *
Players Ella and Louie Tribute Band
Red Wolf Brass Band
Robin Barnes
Roland Guerin
Shotgun Jazz Band
Some Like it Hot Traditional Jazz Band
Sons of Jazz Brass Band
Soul Project NOLA
Soul Rebels
Sweet Cecilia
Sweet Crude
Tank and The Bangas
Terrance "Hollywood" Taplin leads the Uptown Jazz Orchestra
Thais Clark& her JAZZsters
The Asylum Chorus
The Dukes Of Dixieland
The Iguanas
The Mr. *
The New Orleans Po'Boys
The New Orleans Suspects
The Original Pinettes Brass Band
The Pfister Sisters
The Ronnie Kole Show featuring John Perkins
The Smoking Time Jazz Club
Tim Laughlin
Tom McDermott and His Jazz Hellions
Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band
Treme Brass Band
Valerie Sassyfras *
Walter "Wolfman" Washington and the Roadmasters
Water Seed Music
Wayne and Same Ol' 2-Step *
Sunday, April 9
Anaïs St. John
Andrew Hall's Society Brass Band
Astral Project
Babineaux Sisters Band
Bamboula 2000
Bill Summers & Jazalsa
Bonerama
Bucktown All-Stars
Chance Bushman & The Ibervillianaires
Charlie Halloran and the Quality 6
Clive Wilson's New Orleans Serenaders
Cole Williams Band *
Corey Ledet
Creole String Beans
Dancing at Dusk with Tom Saunders and the Tomcats
Don Jamison Heritage School of Music
Garden District Band
Harpist Rachel Van Voorhees
James Andrews
Jeremy Davenport
Joe Cabral Thrio
John Boutté
John Mooney and Bluesiana
John Royen's New Orleans Rhythm Band
Kid Simmons Jazz Band
Kris Tokarski Band
Leif Pedersen's 1944 Big Band
Leroy Jones & New Orleans' Finest
Linnzi Zaorski
Little Freddie King
Los Po-Boy-Citos
Magnetic Ear
Mason Ruffner
The New Orleans Jazz Vipers
New Orleans Rhythm Devils
Ovi-G and the Froggies
Palmetto Bug Stompers
Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show
Raw Oyster Cult
Red Hot Brass Band
Remedy
Rockin' Dopsie and the Zydeco Twisters
Rory Danger & the Danger Dangers
Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs
Soul Brass Band *
Steve Pistorius & the Southern Syncopators
Stooges Brass Band
The Friendly Travelers
The Pentones *
T'Monde *
Tony Green and Gypsy Jazz
Wanda Rouzan and A Taste of New Orleans
Washboard Chaz Blues Trio
Wendell Brunious
Musician Sponsorship Program, Sponsors Contribute $1M+ Since Program's Inception
The 2017 French Quarter Festival will feature more than 1,700 local artists. Festival-organizers remain committed to growing the Musician Sponsorship Program; every dollar donated goes directly to the artists. Since its inception in 2012, the initiative has raised $1 million in contributions. In 2016, over 100 individuals, foundations and businesses signed up to support local musicians by adopting an artist. Sponsors come from all over the United States – from California to Maryland to Michigan to Washington State – to help keep French Quarter Festival a free, true community event, festival reps said. In 2017, AOS Interior Environments sponsors Aaron Neville and Pan-American Life Insurance Group is underwriting all Latin and world music for a second year. Making a debut is Aloft New Orleans Downtown, sponsoring Sweet Crude and Alexis and the Samurai. The festival is still accepting 2017 sponsorships.
Contact Becca Schick, Musician Sponsorship Manager, at (504) 227-3126 or rschick@fqfi.org for more information.
French Quarter Festival Unveils 2017 Poster By Tony Green
The 2017 French Quarter Festival poster was created by artist Tony Green. Each year, the festival's Merchandise Committee selects a painting that portrays the colorful, festive atmosphere of French Quarter Festival, and one that both locals and tourists will identify. Consideration is given only to local artists. To keep the festival free and open to the public, French Quarter Festival relies heavily on merchandise and poster sales, sponsorship and beverage sales to generate its operating budget. Visit www.fqfi.org/shop to purchase the limited edition 2017 French Quarter Festival posters and other official festival merchandise.
Green was born in Naples, Italy in 1954. His family soon moved to the United States settling in Louisiana on New Orleans' West Bank, where Tony spent his childhood. After studying fine arts in college, Green continued to travel and study all over the world including two years in Brugge, Belgium and one year in Ghana, West Africa. In 1982, Green returned to Italy to continue painting and musical pursuits; setting up part-time residence in Venice, an annual tradition that still continues today. Green is greatly influenced by Europe's masters of painting as well as its musical traditions, including that of the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.
Besides his many murals that adorn the city of New Orleans and numerous posters designs, Green is also celebrated for his large New Orleans "Second Line" paintings, which offer positive messages about humanity. This theme is evident in the 2017 French Quarter Festival poster, which captures the joy and beauty of the festival's opening day parade. More information about the artist can be found at www.tonygreen.net.
Opening Night Gala Returns To Antoine's
Thursday, April 6, the French Quarter Festival Opening Night Gala will return to Antoine's Restaurant. Established in 1840 Antoine's is the country's oldest family-run restaurant. During the Gala, guests will enjoy the original Main Dining Room, the Mardi Gras-themed Rex, Proteus and 12th Night Revelers rooms, the Mystery Room, 1840 Room, the Tabasco Room and the Wine Cellar, which holds approximately 25,000 bottles when fully stocked. French Quarter Festival is the only time of the year when Antoine's allows a non-profit community organization to 'take over' – celebrating the opening of French Quarter Festival at this grand Gala event.
Gala guests will enjoy music by Players Ella and Louis Tribute Band, tastings by Antoine's and other festival favorites, an open bar courtesy of Abita Brewing Company and Republic Beverages, and mingling with the Merry Antoinettes. Tony Green and Gypsy Jazz will perform at the Patron Party, which takes place from 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., immediately before the Gala which takes place from 8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.fqfi.org or by calling (504) 227-3124.
Patron tickets are $250 and Gala tickets are $155 ($175 beginning April 1). In addition to single tickets, a limited number of VIP packages are available; packages include private gala seating with dedicated waiter and wristbands for front-of-stage access at festival.
A Showcase Of New Orleans' Finest Cuisine
In a city famous for its wealth of delicious and unique traditional food, French Quarter Festival gives attendees a taste of the best of the best at the ''The World's Largest Jazz Brunch," Festival reps said. More than 60 vendors feature classic New Orleans dishes as well as cuisine from the finest restaurants in the region. A number of restaurants have been with the festival since its beginning in 1984, and have been great partners for 30 years: Antoine's, Pat O'Brien's, Trey Yuen, Tujague's, Vaucresson Sausage, Desire Oyster Bar, and Court of Two Sisters. Other festival favorites returning for 2017 include Galatoire's, Muriel's, Praline Connection, Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse, Restaurant R'evolution, Broussard's, Love at First Bite, Royal House, GW Fins, House of Blues, Jacques-Imo's, K-Paul's, Mrs. Wheat's, Lasyone's Meat Pies, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Three Muses and more. A full list of restaurants, including new vendors for 2017, will be released in March.
Special Events, Programs, Festival Extras
French Quarter Festival Second-Line Kickoff Parade will take place Thursday, April 6, at 10:00 a.m. The parade departs from the 100 block of Bourbon Street and makes its way to Jackson Square.
Let them Talk: Conversations about Louisiana Music will return to French Quarter Festival with presentations and performances at the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint, 3rd Floor Auditorium on Saturday and Sunday at Festival (April 8 and 9). This series is free and open to the public. The complete schedule can be found online at www.fqfi.org.
Dance Lessons, Battle of the Bands, Dancing at Dusk, Pirates Alley Juried Art Show and two children's areas, including Chevron Children's Headquarters STEAM ZONE are beloved special events that all return for the 2017 French Quarter Festival, Festival reps said.
Reps said French Quarter Festivals, Inc. is proud of its history of providing high-quality community events at no cost and being accessible to all. In order to keep the Festival free and open to the public, the organization relies heavily on the contributions of sponsors and partners, beverage and merchandise sales and vendor fees. Festival organizers welcome the return of Chevron as Title Sponsor of both French Quarter Festival and Satchmo SummerFest. "Chevron is thrilled to return as presenting sponsor of the 34th annual French Quarter Festival," said Leah Brown Public Affairs Manager, Chevron Gulf of Mexico. "Chevron values local arts and culture. Our partnership with French Quarter Festivals, Inc. is one way we fuel the social and economic vitality of New Orleans and Louisiana."
Abita Brewing Company, Brown-Forman, New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, NOLA.com/Times-Picayune, OffBeat Magazine, Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, Tropical Isle, Rouses and WWL-TV also return as Major Sponsors of French Quarter Festival.
GE Digital has signed a three year agreement to return as a major sponsor supporting a riverfront stage as well as the Festival's official apps. The FREE French Quarter Festival iPhone and Android App lets fans receive up to the minute announcements, downloadable music schedules, complete menus, special events, merchandise updates, and unique offers to enhance their festival experience. The updated app will be released late March.
Other sponsors include: Amtrak, Antoine's Restaurant, The Berger Company, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Creole Cuisine Restaurant Concepts, Crescent Crown Distributing, Cumulus New Orleans, Data News Weekly, DownBeat Magazine, French Market Corporation, Hermann-Grima House, The Historic New Orleans Collection, House of Blues,Inthenola.com, I.T.S. Fire Alarm Security, LLC, KKAY, KREWE du optic, Laurel Outdoors, Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, Live Free Magazine, Louisiana Cookin', Louisiana Lottery, Musician's Performance Fund, New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park, New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, New Orleans Original Daiquiris, Palm Court Jazz Cafe, Pat O' Brien's, Pepsi, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Preservation Hall, Renaissance Publishing, Rentech Solutions, Republic National Distributing, Rolland Safe and Lock, Royal Sonesta, Steinway and Sons, Taste of the South, The Vinyl District, Uptown Messenger, WBOK, Westin New Orleans Canal Place, Where Magazine, Where Y'at Magazine, Windsor Court Hotel, Whitney Bank, WWL-AM, WWOZ, WWNO 89.9 FM, WRNO 99.5, WYLD and Zapp's Potato Chips.
French Quarter Festival presented by Chevron is produced by French Quarter Festivals, Inc., (FQFI) the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which also produces Satchmo SummerFest presented by Chevron in August and Christmas New Orleans Style in December.
