Photo courtesy of New Orleans Jazz Fest on Facebook

It’s almost that time of year again — time to sip the iced tea, snack on crawfish Monica, and sway to the music of local and international musicians under the hot New Orleans sun. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, or Jazz Fest, is one of the most celebrated festivals in New Orleans and takes place every year during the last weekend of April and the first weekend in May. Jazz Fest has been around since 1970 and gets bigger and better every year.

During these two weekends, locals and out-of-towners get together to enjoy the culture of New Orleans with the various food, crafts, and performances that Jazz Fest has to offer. Contrary to the name, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is more than just jazz music.

Various musical genres like hip-hop, zydeco, blues, tribal, and electronic music can all be heard live from Jazz Fest’s multiple stages. This year the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will take place at its usual spot on the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots (1751 Gentilly Blvd.) starting on Thursday, April 23, and ending on Sunday, May 3, 2026.

Some of the top headliners for the festival include The Eagles, Stevie Nicks (her only 2026 show), Rod Stewart (on his farewell tour), and David Byrne. Among the local favorites, you can expect Irma Thomas, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Jon Batiste, Big Freedia, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and many more.

Other popular acts include Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, Widespread Panic, and hundreds more. The music schedule is broken down by day in cubes with times for all the acts, which you can view here.

Of course, one of the best parts of Jazz Fest is the food. Some staples for food include mango freezes, ya-ka-mein, snoballs, poboys, and much more. Here’s the list of 2026 food vendors.

As a result of this sheer scope and size, in many ways, Jazz Fest feels like too overwhelming an event to properly tackle, especially for those who are attending for the first time.

Regarding the festival’s musical acts, there are plenty of commentators who think festival organizers have unfairly stretched the definition of what music falls under the jazz and heritage rubric. We’re not here to debate that topic, but rather point out that there is undoubtedly a wide variety of genre presence at Jazz Fest, which only adds to the looming sense of choice overload.

With all of that in mind, there are some sound tactics for making Jazz Fest more manageable. Here are some of our time-tested strategies.

Ride a Bike

While this choice isn’t going to work for everyone — some visitors simply don’t have urban cycling experience or are scared of the prospect — we can’t stress just how much biking can improve the Jazz Fest experience. Even the most diehard Jazz Fest boosters will admit parking can be a nightmare during the festival. Parking enforcement officers are on high alert — we’ve never seen the impound lot on Claiborne Avenue get quite so busy as it does during Jazz Fest.

Of course, you can pay for parking. Folks who live near the Fairgrounds will turn even the smallest plot of the backyard into an impromptu parking lot (rates vary, but around $30 per day seemed to be the going rate in the past).

There are other ways of outflanking the parking issue, including the official Jazz Fest shuttle, taxis (both cars and bicycle rickshaws), rideshare, and the streetcar. Note that if you take the streetcar, you’ll still have to walk about a half mile to the festival entrance. (Take the number 48 line that runs on Canal Street and get off at the final stop at City Park/Art Museum.)

But we really love getting to Jazz Fest on two non-motorized wheels. Bike lane infrastructure can now bring riders to the gates of Jazz Fest. If you’re staying in the French Quarter, the bike ride to the Fairgrounds covers a 10-15 minute straight shot up Esplanade Avenue.

Plus, there is extensive bicycle “parking” (overlooked by security staff) on site. While we can’t guarantee what the weather will be like during Jazz Fest weekends, in general, late April and early May form a lovely climate window in New Orleans.

In addition, being on a bicycle gives visitors a better sense of the city. You can see New Orleans at the street level without the loss of time walking might engender. There’s an intimacy to biking in the city that’s tough to replicate from a car.

Shape Your Cube

The Jazz Fest lineup is famously scheduled into “cubes” for attendees. Devising a schedule for seeing all of your favorite acts can be a fun logistical challenge, but don’t forget that the stages of Jazz Fest are spread out over a decently large area. If you’re in the middle of the crowd at one of the main stages, it can take about 10 or 15 minutes just to extricate yourself from the center of mass.

Note that Sundays and Thursdays always feel a little bit less crowded at the racetrack, although that “little bit less” is admittedly a relative number — there are no real “light” days at Jazz Fest.

The way you assemble your cube is up to you, but here are some pointers we’ve picked up over the years:

• Stick to your cube, but don’t do so religiously. Part of the fun of Jazz Fest is simply letting the music take you wherever it wants to go.
• Don’t ignore smaller stages. We found one of our great unexpected Jazz Fest shows at the Kids Tent. We also always find the Fais Do-Do stage to be a consistently good break in our routine — basically, you can never go wrong dancing to Cajun or zydeco music.
• Visit the Gospel Tent at least once. We’ve consistently found that even those who know next to nothing about gospel music have their spirits lifted and their musical boundaries expanded in this venue.

Cool Off

It can get hot during Jazz Fest. A few good means of beating the heat include:

• Enjoying the air conditioning in the Grandstands
• Hitting the mist tents by the Gentilly Stage and #2 food vendor area
• Sitting down and relaxing in the vicinity of the Louisiana Folklife Village
• Getting strawberry lemonade and Mango Freeze! (And of course, hydrating with water)
• Staying out of the scrum for bigger headliners

Priorities, Priorities

While the price of Jazz Fest tickets continues to climb, the fact of the matter is you can still see some grade-A headliners for a bargain rate compared to similar (or even smaller) festivals. Many locals treat Jazz Fest as a chance to see big acts for relatively cheap. On the flip side, if you live in or near the city, you can see the New Orleans musicians throughout the year at local venues, which means there’s less pressure to see them on the Fairgrounds.

If you’re coming in from out of town, you may have the opposite scenario prioritized — you can see big-name acts anywhere, but this is your best chance of seeing Louisiana music on its native soil. In addition, smaller local acts often occupy stages that are less crowded, and everyone enjoys a break from the seething masses.

With all of that said, don’t forget that during the “off days” in between the two festival weekends, many smaller and mid-sized acts will be playing gigs around town. If you miss them at the Fest, you may well catch them on Frenchmen Street.

With that said, there’s something about seeing local acts at Jazz Fest. The big-name headliners are used to huge audiences. A local Louisiana act would be playing to wow the world, and some of those sets end up being nothing short of legendary.

What to Know About the 2026 Jazz Fest

• Jazz Fest will remain cashless. Ticket, food, beverage, craft, and merchandise booths no longer accept cash payments. If you come to the event with only cash, the Festival will offer two cash exchange booths near key vending locations so you can get a prepaid card for your cash.
• This year, Jazz Fest features over 5,000 musicians across 15 stages.
• The festival will be one of the largest in its 55-year history. Eight is the most number of days for the event, and this year there will be the most food vendors and food items ever. And there will also be over 250 arts and craft vendors.
• “Locals Thursday” will be April 23 this year, with discounted tickets for Louisiana residents.
• This year, Jazz Fest will celebrate Jamaica’s musical and cultural diversity at the Cultural Exchange Pavilion. During the festival, dozens of bands and a wide variety of artisans from throughout Jamaica will present their sounds and traditions.
• The Jazz & Heritage Gala kicks off Jazz Fest with the celebration of Louisiana music and cuisine on Wednesday, April 22, at Generations Hall (310 Andrew Higgins Blvd.).
• Check out the event’s FAQ section for more details.

Are You Coming to Jazz Fest?

We’d love for you to stay with us! Take advantage of our specials, group rates, and best-rate guarantee for greater savings to spend on New Orleans famous cuisine and enjoy everything this magnificent city has to offer. Reserve your room today!

Also, consider booking a guided tour of the famous St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to experience the hauntingly beautiful past of New Orleans. And, for easy, informative sightseeing, we recommend the City Sightseeing New Orleans city tour on the open-top, double-decker bus. It runs every 30 minutes through the Garden District, French Quarter, and CBD. You can hop on and off anytime!

From major music and cultural events to the festivals that honor just about every local food there is, New Orleans celebrates life like no other city. From the fabulously unique traditions like Reveillon and Super Sunday to the Saints football season, the city doesn’t stop eating, drinking, and celebrating. To give you a glimpse of just how much is going on in New Orleans all year round, here’s a quick look at the annual highlights grouped by season.

Fall (September 1 – November 30)

Cooler temps and the seemingly endless slew of food, drink and music festivals are on tap in the fall in New Orleans, starting over the Labor Day weekend with the massive and fabulous Southern Decadence, a popular festival that celebrates LGBTQ+ with block parties, shows, and a parade.

October begins with the ever-expanding National Fried Chicken Festival at the Lakefront. Also, New Orleans throws its version of Oktoberfest over the three weekends at Deutsches Haus in Mid-City, to celebrate the city’s rich German history, followed by one of the best-attended art events in the city, Art for Art’s Sake.

Don’t miss the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival, the Tremé Fall Festival, and the New Orleans Film Festival, which is one of the largest film festivals in the South and is the longest-running festival of its kind in the state.

New Orleans does Halloween like no other city, so if you’re lucky to be visiting around that time, consider any of the balls, costume parties, parade, haunted tours, and a huge block party on Frenchmen Street! The kid-friendly parade called Krewe of Boo rolls through the French Quarter, courtesy of Kern Studios, and there are many more Halloween activities around the city happening in the couple weeks leading up to Halloween.

November brings more food festivals — the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival and the Beignet Festival at the New Orleans City Park Festival Grounds. Also in November is the annual LUNA Fête that brings large-scale light and sound installations to Gallier Hall and Piazza d’Italia.

Thanksgiving at the Fair Grounds Race Course is a long-standing New Orleans tradition of turning out at the track on Thanksgiving Day to watch the opening-day races while sporting cocktails and fabulous hats. Next, there’s Bayou Classic, a fan fest, a parade, the battle of the bands, and, of course, the big game at the Superdome between Southern University and Grambling State University.

The beloved Celebration in the Oaks kicks off the holiday season with a dazzling holiday lights festival scattered throughout the 25 acres of City Park, including the Botanical Garden, Storyland, and Carousel Gardens Amusement Park.

Winter (December 1 – February 28)

There’s a whole slew of events that accompany Christmastime in the Crescent City, from bonfires on the Algiers levees to concerts at St. Louis Cathedral to the family-friendly NOLA Christmasfest to Reveillon menus at some of the city’s classic Creole restaurants. The streetcars are decked with wreaths, and the city is alight with the holiday sparkle.

The New Year’s Eve celebrations in New Orleans include the Dick Clark Rockin’ New Year’s Eve at the historic JAX Brewery in the French Quarter, with a fleur-de-lis drop at midnight to the countdown on Jackson Square, quite a few balcony parties on and around Bourbon Street, and the fireworks over the Mississippi River.

The first day of the carnival season known as Twelfth Night, or the Epiphany, kicks off every year with three parades — Phunny Phorty Phellows ride the streetcar from Uptown to Canal Street and back, plus the walking Krewe of Joan of Arc in the French Quarter, and the Société Des Champs Elysée.

Mardi Gras season culminates every year on Fat Tuesday anytime between February 3 and March 9 (February 17 in 2026). There’s not enough room to describe one of the great spectacles in the world, but keep up with the parade schedule to at least get started on how to do Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

February closes with an enormous public Tet celebration in New Orleans East to celebrate the Lunar New Year (did you know that New Orleans is home to one of the largest Vietnamese diaspora communities in the country?), and Valentine’s Day – which isn’t unique to New Orleans but is nevertheless good to celebrate in one of the most romantic cities in the world.

Spring (March 1 – May 31)

Lovely weather and endless festivals continue this time of year with Wednesday at the Square; the Congo Square Rhythms Festival; the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival (don’t miss the “Stella!” shouting contest); the Mid-City’s own Bayou Boogaloo, held on the picturesque banks of Bayou St. John; the Freret Street Festival that’s getting bigger every year; and, of course, the two heavy hitters and the reason so many visitors come to New Orleans in the spring – the French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest.

St. Patrick’s Day and Easter are subject to more celebration, with multiple parades and parties. Finally, the Mardi Gras Indians Super Sunday is a treasured tradition dating back to the 19th century and held on the Sunday closest to St. Joseph’s Day, which gets its own unique celebration across the Catholic churches and even private homes in the city with the beautifully appointed altars (the Italian-Sicilian contribution to New Orleans’ rich cultural tapestry).

Summer (June 1 – August 31)

Want to cross an iconic New Orleans restaurant off your bucket list? There’s no time like Restaurant Week New Orleans, during which dozens of participating restaurants, from the James Beard luminaries to the new hotspots to the Creole grand dames, offer set-course menus at a deep discount. Also in June is another culinary fest, the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience, and the popular Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival, held at Louis Armstrong Park.

Summers here can be pretty hot and humid, but still, the best restaurants and bars in town celebrate Tales of the Cocktail in July, and COOLinary New Orleans with prix fixe menus in August. You can also browse the galleries on the White Linen Night (or exactly a week later, the Dirty Linen Night).

The city comes to life for the Satchmo SummerFest and a slew of events over the Fourth of July and the Labor Day weekends, like Go 4th on the River, and the ESSENCE Festival of Culture at the Superdome. The French Market Creole Tomato Festival is one of the smaller fests to enjoy, and Running of the Bulls brings Encierro to New Orleans, except the bulls are the Big Easy Rollergirls.

Finally, the Red Dress Run (who doesn’t want to run a madcap two-mile course through the city in August while wearing a red dress?) will at least keep your mind off the heat.

As you can see, we have a lot going on all year round! No matter when you visit, take advantage of our specials, group rates, and best-rate guarantee for greater savings to spend on New Orleans famous French Quarter cuisine and enjoying everything this magnificent city has to offer. Reserve your room today!

Also, consider booking a guided tour of the famous St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to experience the hauntingly beautiful past of New Orleans. And, for easy, informative sightseeing, we recommend the City Sightseeing New Orleans city tour on the open-top, double-decker bus. It runs every 30 minutes through the Garden District, French Quarter, and CBD. You can hop on and off anytime!

Here’s what’s on tap for the upcoming summer months in terms of festivals and other fun events you should consider attending if you’re visiting New Orleans this summer.

Enjoy Music Like Never Before

Music has been an integral part of New Orleans’ history, culture, and traditions. It comes as no surprise that people come from near and far to experience the unique music scene in this culturally diverse city. This summer, you will have the opportunity to hear outstanding live music at a number of local festivals.

ESSENCE Festival of Culture, taking place Thursday, July 3, through Sunday, July 6, 2025, over the Independence Day weekend, will be returning this year to the Caesars Superdome for the nightly concerts, plus there will be a packed schedule of free daytime events at the Convention Center, including motivational seminars, beauty and style presentations, celebrity interviews, cooking demos, and lots more.

Expect a stellar music lineup of major headliners and the best of local talent. This year’s theme is “We Are Made Like This.” Performers include Boyz II Men, Davido, Maxwell, Master P, GloRilla, The Isley Brothers, Nas, and Summer Walker.

You can get tickets online and download the festival’s app for streamlined navigation and more information.

ESSENCE After Dark, a series of late-night jam sessions, comedy shows, underground performances, live podcast recordings, and more, is returning once again to the Superdome.

Since ESSENCE is so much more than music, a slew of exciting conferences, exhibitions, roundtables, and other experiences are also scheduled, including a series of keynotes. The celebrated ESSENCE Eats will once again have cooking demos and a food court with vendors from all over the South.

Another festival of note is Satchmo SummerFest (Saturday and Sunday, August 2-3, 2025), which started as a tribute to Louis Armstrong over a decade ago, on his 100th birthday. The two-day festival is held at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint at the foot of Esplanade Avenue, and will have music all weekend on its outdoor, tented stages. Other events will include a Sunday morning Jazz Mass at the historic St. Augustine Church in Tremé, seminars and film screenings, kids’ activities, and a second-line parade.

More Exciting New Orleans Summer Events and Festivals

June

Kick off the summer fest season with the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience (NOWFE), held on Wednesday through Sunday, June 11-15, 2025. In its 33rd year in 2025, NOWFE is a smorgasbord of food and wine tastings, tours, master classes, and the annual champagne-soaked burlesque brunch. Each year, hundreds of wineries and restaurants participate, offering menus featuring local flavors and innovative new creations inspired by diverse cuisines.

Top chefs from around the city create unique culinary experiences, so much so that the event regularly makes a few national “best of” festival lists. The organization behind this popular event is a nonprofit that donates 100% of its proceeds to beneficiaries ranging from food banks to culinary schools. You can see all the events and get tickets online.

Launched in 2011, New Orleans Pride (Friday-Sunday, June 13-15, 2025) is a celebration taking place in the French Quarter to celebrate and honor LGBTQ+ communities and their allies in New Orleans and surrounding areas. It is the only official Pride Festival in New Orleans, the largest in Louisiana, and one of the fastest-growing Pride celebrations in the nation.

Special events include the Pride Gala, the PrideFest block party at the Phoenix bar, and the annual parade. The parade is held on Saturday, June 14, 2025, starting at 5 p.m. in the Marigny and rolling through the French Quarter.

Up next is the French Market Creole Tomato Festival, which honors the arrival of the beloved Creole tomato. Celebrating its 39th anniversary in 2025, the free festival will again feature live music stages, cooking demos, kids’ activities, farm stands, food vendors, and more. The 2025 dates are Saturday-Sunday, June 7-8.

Restaurant Week New Orleans, held on Monday through Sunday, June 16-22, 2025, features multi-course, special menus and dining deals in numerous participating restaurants, from upscale Creole eateries to neighborhood bistros. Keep up with this year’s list of participating restaurants and their menus, and don’t miss a chance to try a new spot or revisit your favorite.

The last of June festivals, the New Orleans Juneteenth Festival, is happening on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Come to Congo Square in Armstrong Park to commemorate this remarkable date with this free festival, held from noon to 7 p.m.

July

Going into July, Running of the Bulls brings Encierro to New Orleans on Friday-Sunday, July 11-13, 2025, except that the bulls are the Big Easy Rollergirls. San Fermin in Nueva Orleans pays annual homage to the world-famous Encierro of Pamplona, Spain, running through the streets of New Orleans starting at Gallier Hall on Saturday, July 12, starting at 6:30 a.m. The annual opening and closing parties happening that weekend are also great fun (check out the schedule on the event’s website).

If cocktails are your thing, you may want to check out Tales of the Cocktail (Sunday-Friday, July 20-25, 2025), a six-day festival packed with tastings, seminars, and special events that are all centered around exchanging ideas and techniques in the cocktail world. This lively festival is perfect for passionate mixologists, professionals, and enthusiasts alike. The festival’s signature annual blowout is the “best of” Spirited Awards, followed by the always-popular after-party.

August

The fun doesn’t stop there. The White Linen Night (Saturday, August 2, 2025) is a free multi-block party and an open house for galleries on the 300-600 blocks of Julia Street in the Warehouse District, with several stages for live music and dozens of food and drink stands. Participants are invited to wear white (hence the name). About 20 galleries on and around Julia St. will be open to the public.

White Linen’s “cousin,” the Dirty Linen Night (Saturday, August 9, 2025), is similar in format, though looser in structure and spanning more territory. It actually wasn’t created to compete with the Warehouse District event, but to promote the many galleries and shops on Royal Street. The multi-block party takes over the 300-1100 blocks of Royal Street and some cross streets and adjoining areas in the French Quarter, including Jackson Square and Dutch Alley.

The always fabulous Southern Decadence festival (Friday-Monday, August 29 – September 1, 2025) is traditionally held on Labor Day weekend. This massive four-day festival celebrates LGBTQ+ culture and attracts participants from all over the world. Just like every year, most activities will be centered in and around the French Quarter, with lots of block parties and dance parties at bars and clubs on Bourbon Street, plus two parades.

Although we’re not sure if this event falls under the festival category, there is no better time to try out an award-winning restaurant or revisit an old favorite than August, thanks to the annual COOLinary program. COOLinary was conceived as a promotion to lure diners to local restaurants in the slower summer months, during which restaurants all over the city offer discounted dining deals.

The deals follow the same format every year: a prix fixe three-course dinner and brunch menus, and two- to three-course lunch menus that don’t exceed a certain price. Over a hundred restaurants typically participate.

Finding a New Orleans Hotel Close to It All

Planning a trip to New Orleans this summer? We’d love for you to stay with us! Take advantage of our specials, group rates, and best-rate guarantee for greater savings to spend on New Orleans famous cuisine and enjoy everything this magnificent city has to offer. Reserve your room today!

Also, consider booking a guided tour of the famous St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to experience the hauntingly beautiful past of New Orleans. And, for easy, informative sightseeing, we recommend the City Sightseeing New Orleans city tour on the open-top, double-decker bus. It runs every 30 minutes through the Garden District, French Quarter, and CBD. You can hop on and off anytime!

Happy summer!

Fall in New Orleans is some of the best times to visit for many reasons, including these top five below.

1. The Weather Is Glorious

Fall in New Orleans is like a breath of fresh air. The dog days of summer, which last deep into September, give way to milder weather. While you probably won’t need a jacket in the daytime, evening temps can dip to the low 60s in October and the low 50s in November, so pack some light outerwear. Lagniappe: Less rain falls in the city in autumn than at any other time of year.

2. Fall Festivals Abound

In the fall, foodies chow down at the Beignet Festival and the National Fried Chicken Festival; culture mavens celebrate Art for Art’s Sake and the New Orleans Film Festival; and music fans get down at the Tremé Fall Festival. The city also celebrates German food, music, and beer during the three weekend-long Oktoberfest.

3. It’s Hauntingly Fun

Boo! Halloween isn’t just one day in New Orleans, where the veil between the living and dead is paper thin. It’s an entire season, filled with balls, costume parties, and multiple parades. Krewe of Boo, the city’s official Halloween parade, kicks off the season in mid-October with an extravaganza of family-friendly monster floats that throw scads of plush toys and candy. On October 31, join a more Bohemian street parade and block party on Decatur Street and dive into the throngs of costumed revelers on Frenchmen Street, which rages till the wee hours.

4. November Is a Thanksgiving Cornucopia

Thanksgiving is just the final course of a month’s worth of food festivals in November. Sample more than 50 varieties of New Orleans’ most iconic sandwich at the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival, and scarf your gumbo with a side of brass bands at Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival. Then don a fabulous hat and hit Thanksgiving at the Fair Grounds Race Course for the opening day races, a New Orleans see-and-be-seen tradition where you can feast on a sumptuous buffet in the clubhouse whilst betting on the ponies.

5. It’s Football Season!

New Orleanians bleed black and gold, but you don’t have to be a Saints fan to cheer your favorite teams on to glory. College sports fans converge on Thanksgiving weekend for the Bayou Classic, when longtime rivals Grambling State and Southern University clash in the Superdome.

Catch your own home team in action-packed Quarter sports bars like American Sports Saloon (1200 Decatur St.); Jimani Lounge & Restaurant (141 Chartres St.); and The Corner Oyster House (500 St. Peters St.). But be forewarned: If your team’s playing the Saints, you might be in for a little friendly roasting.

Planning a trip to New Orleans this summer? Book your reservation today with Place d’Armes Hotel! Just minutes from exciting summer festivals, events, restaurants, shops, bars, and more, the Place d’Armes is ideally located in the heart of the city, the historic French Quarter.