Starting Thursday, April 6th and ending on Sunday, April 9th, 2017, French Quarter Festival will take to the streets, the parks, and the Mississippi River front with some of the most popular local musical acts, the best local foods, and a whole lot of fun. This annual festival, dedicated to supporting the local music community, is made possible by the French Quarter Festival Musician Sponsors, American Federation of Musicians, the Music Performance Trust Fund, and over 150 other sponsors. There are over 1,700 musicians performing during the four days as well as over 50 of the best local food vendors!
Who is Performing at French Quarter Fest in 2017?
It’s important to note that the Festival takes place in and around the French Quarter on multiple streets, landmarks and stages. There are 23 stages that you can walk to, with music from the morning to the evening!
On Thursday, dubbed the ‘locals’ day, you can visit six different stages and listen to a variety of music from different genres including: New Birth Brass Band, Johnny Sansone, Mia Borders, Brass-A-Holics, Bag of Donuts, Aaron Neville, John “Papa” Gros, The Preservation Brass Band, Ellis Marsalis, the Bayou Swamp Band and more! If you find yourself in a sticky situation, remember that you can always contact the Criminal Defense Lawyers at Crescent City Law for a FREE consultation.
On Friday, there are 13 stages and look out for artists such as Gal Holiday & the Honky Tonk Revue, The Nayo Jones Experience, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles, Irma Thomas, Charmaine Neville, Storyville Stompers Brass Band, MainLine, Amanda Shaw, Mario Abney, and more! You can also get some Zydeco dance lessons at the Chevron Cajun/Zydeco Stage or Jitterbug dance lessons at the French Market Traditional Jazz Stage.
Saturday starts some of the other stages, so you can expect to find music on 23 different stages. Some of the musicians you should look for include The Iguanas, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadsters, Colin Lake, The Soul Rebels, Big Chief Bo Dollis, Jr. & the Wild Magnolias, Erica Falls, Honey Island Swamp Band, Eric Lindell, Tank and the Bangas, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbeque Swingers, The Original Pinettes Brass Band, Tom McDermott and His Jazz Hellions, and more. There are also dance lessons available at various stages as well.
Look forward to Sunday where you can listen to Los Po-Boy-Citos, Bill Summers & Jazalsa, The Bucktown All-Stars, James Andrews, Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs, John Boutte, Jeremy Davenport, Soul Brass Band, Cowboy Mouth, Kinfolk Brass Band, Rockin’ Dopsie and the Zydeco Twisters, and a lot more! Continue taking Zydeco lessons at the Chevron Cajun/Zydeco stage throughout the entire weekend!
For a full lineup and schedule of musicians for the whole weekend, click on this link.
Some People Come for the Food
French Quarter Festival is the largest free music festival of its kind. This is due in part to the organizations and sponsors who help support it, but also because of the contributions from food and drinks. Therefore, they make sure to bring out some of the best food vendors and restaurants from the New Orleans area to the festival. There are several different areas along the Waterfront that you can purchase food and drink, and a variety to choose from as well. All tips received at the Festival beverage booths directly support musicians at the French Quarter Festival.
Some of the most popular food and drink vendors and items include:
Antoine’s Baked Alaska with Chocolate Sauce
Broussard’s Crab Cake Slider with Pineapple Slaw
Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse Prime Beef Debris Po-Boy
Galatoire’s Shrimp Remoulade
Haydel’s Bakery White Chocolate King Cake Bread Pudding
Jacques-Imo’s Café Shrimp & Alligator Sausage Cheescake
Pat O’Brien’s Bar Hurricane
Plum Street Snoballs
Trey Yuen Cuisine of China Vegetable Lo Mein
Café Reconcile Fried Turkey Necks
Rouses Crawfish Boil
Praline Connection Fried Jumbo Chicken Wings with Mustard Greens
Mrs. Wheat’s Crawfish Pie
Desire Oyster Bar Oyster Rockefeller Po-Boy
Wink’s Bakery Buttermilk Drops
As you can see, you should come to the Festival hungry because there are not only some great lunch or dinner items, but you need to save some room for dessert as well!
How to Get to French Quarter Festival
If you’re not staying in the French Quarter, Marigny, Central Business District or Warehouse District, you should consider your options on transportation to the area. Parking will be sparse, and if you expect to drink you shouldn’t drive. If driving is the only option for you, then you can find parking lots at the French Market, 500 Decatur Street, 300 North Peters Street, 211 Conti Street, Canal Place and a few others.
The following bus routes will take you close to the Festival: 10, 11, 55, 57, 91, 2, 12, 47, 48 and 49. There are also the RTA street car lines including the new Rampart Streetcar line. For information, go to www.norta.com. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, remember that you can always contact the Criminal Defense Lawyers at Crescent City Law for a FREE consultation.
Bike Easy will have valet bike parking from Friday-Sunday located at the Canal Street entrance to Woldenberg Riverfront Park. There are a few other bike parking locations including along the Mississippi floodwall at Conti and Bienville, and at Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint at 400 Esplanade Avenue.
You can also consider Uber, Lyft or a taxicab. Remember that during peak hours, Uber and Lyft will charge surge prices, but are still cheaper than a DWI.
What You Should Know About Going to French Quarter Fest
Even though this is a free festival, and it does take place over a rather large area of downtown New Orleans, in order to keep the city safe, there are some rules and regulations you should abide by, including general laws of Louisiana. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, remember that you can always contact the Criminal Defense Lawyers at Crescent City Law for a FREE consultation.
– There are bag checks at the riverfront access points to enforce a ban on firearms, drugs, pets, and outside drinks.
– If you bring something that is legal, but prohibited, then you must either discard of it, surrender it, or bring it to a secure location like your hotel room or car.
– You cannot bring a cooler, ice chest or large container into most of the festival area.
If You Get Arrested at French Quarter Fest… New Orleans Criminal Defense Lawyers
French Quarter Festival is one of the most fun weekends in New Orleans. In addition to the free music, the large area to roam around and hear music, the delicious food and abundance of drinks, the weather is almost always fantastic. This sometimes leads to too much fun, and some misjudgments. If you happen to have too much fun, and find yourself arrested in New Orleans at French Quarter Fest, you should consider calling an experienced New Orleans criminal defense lawyer to help you navigate the legal system here in the Big Easy. Not only will Crescent City Law make sure that your rights have not been violated, but will also help you from the minute you call us until the case is completely closed. We understand that difficult life can turn when you make a mistake and commit a misdemeanor crime such as violation of open container, disturbing the peace, public urination, minor in possession, simple theft or trespassing. We want you to be able to move on with your life and family, with very little interruption of jail time, financial debt or loss of driver’s license. Either fill out a contact form here, or call us for a FREE consultation at (504) 264-9492.
