The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has announced the dates for next years event. Performances begin on Friday, April 23 and run through Sunday May 2. The event was originally scheduled to kick off on Thursday, April 22, but was pushed back a day due to financial reasons. The year of the 35th anniversary event were resuming the traditional Friday kick-off, says Jazz Fest Producer/Director Quint Davis. The Thursday opening in 2003 was different and fun in its own way, but its not financially viable in the current economic and tourism environment. Well be carefully monitoring the situation for opportunities to extend the festival in the future.
Last year was the only year in the festival’s history that the gates opened on the Thursday of the first weekend, adding an eighth day of music.
Performers for 2004 will be announced in February. The official website is www.nojazzfest.com.