Foundations of Funk (George Porter, Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, Tony Hall) at Jazz Fest 2019


The legendary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has officially announced dates for its 2021 edition, but organizers will replace their usual April/May schedule with an October timeline. The festival will take place Oct. 8-17.

“We are all ready to get together again and share that special spirit that lives at Jazz Fest,” said Quint Davis, Producer/Director of Jazz Fest (via press release.) “It’s taking longer than we want, but we’ll all have our celebration when the time comes. Your health, along with the health of our musicians, food and crafts vendors, and all of the folks that work to make the magic happen, remains the priority as we plan the return of Jazz Fest.”

According to a press release, “the Festival will begin announcing details about the 2021 Fest this spring, so stay tuned to Jazz Fest social media platforms for information as it becomes available. In the coming weeks, the Festival will also announce the process for exchanging or refunding tickets for those who currently maintain tickets for the postponed April event. Ticketholders will receive emails directly from the Festival Ticket Office.”

For comparison, another New Orleans cultural institution, February’s Mardi Gras, was canceled completely this year in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, so music fans will hold onto these Jazz Fest dates with bated breath.

2019 was the last Jazz Fest, marking the event’s 50th anniversary and welcoming over 475,000 music fans to the Crescent City.

For more information, visit nojazzfest.com.