For the 45th year, the New Orleans Fair Grounds Racetrack will be transformed into the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, an annual celebration of the birthplace of Jazz and its culture. Over the years, the Festival has grown to seven days of music, food and art over two weekends and brings in musical acts from all over the world, including an array of local musicians as well. The 2015 Festival will run from Friday, April 24th – Sunday, April 26th and Thursday, April 30th – Sunday, May 3rd at the New Orleans Fairgrounds Race Course located in Mid-City, New Orleans. Whether you are visiting New Orleans for the first time to attend Jazz Fest, or you are a returning resident, Crescent City Law is here to provide you with the most important information to help you get to and around the Festival.
Buying Tickets to Jazz Fest
You can purchase tickets to Jazz Fest through the official website at www.nojazzfest.com or you can purchase tickets at the gate. In addition to single day tickets ($55 in advance, $70 at the gate), various ticket packages are available for the entire festival that provide access to private bathrooms, shaded viewing stands, parking, and VIP Hospitality lounges. You can also purchase a Brass Pass through the local radio station, WWOZ, here. The Brass Pass provides specific benefits to WWOZ supporters, and the fee goes straight to the non-profit radio station. In addition to purchasing tickets online, you can call Ticketmaster Charge by Phone, go to a Ticketmaster Outlet or visit the Smoothie King Center Box Office during box office hours. More information about buying Jazz Fest tickets is available here.
How Do I Get to Jazz Fest?
How do you get to Jazz Fest? There are a number of options available to you. You can drive to the Fair Grounds Race Course as there is parking available in the surrounding neighborhoods, but it is not recommended. Parking enforcement will be in the area to ensure you are not parked 20 feet from an intersection, crosswalk, stop sign or fire hydrant as well as either facing the wrong way down a one-way street or blocking the sidewalk. (I can tell you from personal experience that you should make sure you do not have any past due parking tickets, red light camera tickets, or speed camera tickets because the meter maids will be on the lookout, with parking boots, for people who don’t pay their fine!) If you plan to drink any alcohol at Jazz Fest, you are encouraged to take a taxi, Uber, public transportation or the shuttle. Without the devoted NOPD traffic division, every on-duty officer will be looking out for drunk drivers in the area. The Canal Streetcar Line to City Park/Museum can take you close to the Fair Grounds, and then it is a short walk from there. There is also the Jazz Fest Express operated by Gray Line Tours and runs from the Sheraton Hotel on Canal Street downtown, the Steamboat Natchez Dock and City Park. There is also a special entrance for those who choose to take the Jazz Fest Express. Round trip shuttle tickets are available for $18 and can be purchased here.
How to Prepare for Jazz Fest
Since Jazz Fest is an all-day festival, starting at 11:00a.m. and running through 7:00p.m., planning what to wear and what to bring can be overwhelming. Let’s first look at the weather: it will be hot and unpredictable. You are likely to experience extreme sun, as there is very little to no shade out on the Fair Grounds. If the weather has any chance of rain in the forecast, you should prepare for this as well. Some points to note:
- Wear and bring sunscreen.
- Bring a hat and sunglasses for sun protection.
- Bring a poncho or small umbrella in the event of rain.
- If it rains, it will be extremely muddy; wear shrimp boots or rain boots if there is a chance of rain or it rained the previous days. Shrimp boots can be purchased at Walmart for less than $30.00. Otherwise, wear shoes you can walk around and get dirty.
- Wear loose, comfortable clothing.
- Bring up to 1 liter of water in a sealed bottle and don’t be shy to buy more throughout the day.
Some other things you should bring with you to make for a pleasurable Jazz Fest experience include a sheet or blanket to sit on, collapsible chairs if you intend to stay in one spot all day, small soft coolers for icing down food or beverage, cash and a small fanny pack or backpack. There are ATMs at the Festival, but it is much easier to plan to get cash prior to arrival.
You can absolutely not bring the following things to Jazz Fest and can be denied entry or kicked out if found with these items:
- Hard coolers, or anything larger than a 12 –pack
- Wagons Outside beverages aside from the 1 bottle of sealed water
- Glass containers
- Pets (except service animals)
- Personal tents or shades
- Beach umbrellas
- Personal transportation devices such as skateboards, Segways, go-carts, etc
- Video or audio recording devices
- Weapons, illicit drugs or other contraband
Who Will Be playing at Jazz Fest in 2015?
This year’s Jazz Fest has one of the best in recent history including Elton John, Keith Urban, The Who, Jimmy Buffett, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga, Pitbull, Widespread Panic, No Doubt, Chicago, Jerry Lee Lewis and Lenny Kravitz. Local Acts from New Orleans include: Trombone Shorty, Allen Toussaint, The Meters, Dr. John, Kermit Ruffins, Tab Benoit, The Radiators, the Neville Brothers, Irma Thomas, Jon Cleary and more. Be sure to check out the line-ups (the Jazz Fest cubes) to see who is performing, which stage they are performing on and which date and time to expect to see them. You can find that information here. And, Jazz Fest has an App for both iPhones and Android systems!
People don’t just attend Jazz Fest for the musicians, but also for the food, art and culture. Popular “Jazz Fest Foods” include crawfish bread, Crawfish Monica, strawberry lemonade (I worked this tent in 2013 and I’m still addicted), raw and cooked oysters, Cochon de Lait Po-Boy, cracklins’, turkey necks, pecan catfish meuniere, hot sausage po-boy, boiled crawfish, and ya ka mein. You don’t want to miss out on some of these favorites as they aren’t always available in New Orleans year-round.
While walking around the grounds, make sure to stop and visit some of the art and craft areas such as the Louisiana Marketplace, Contemporary Crafts and Congo Square African Marketplace. For a map of the festival, click here.
Stay Safe at Jazz Fest
The most important points to keep in mind in order to have an enjoyable Jazz Fest experience while staying safe is to always have a designated driver, follow the rules, listen to law enforcement and security, do not bring prohibited items to the festival, and control yourself if you plan to drink. If you are arrested for disturbing the peace, DWI, public urination, lewd conduct or drug or paraphernalia possession, you should consider calling an experienced New Orleans criminal defense lawyer. Crescent City Law offers free initial consultations and is available to take your calls at nights and weekends, even during the Festival. You can contact John Radziewicz at (504) 264-9492 or e-mail him here. Happy Jazz Fest!!
