New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival: Everything you need to know
The 53rd annual festival brings thousands to the Big Easy celebrating indigenous music and culture, megastar performances, and more food than ever.
Jazz Festival returns for two weekends of fun filled with music, food, and culture. The 53rd annual festival brings thousands to the Big Easy celebrating indigenous music and culture, megastar performances, and more food than ever.
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is a two-weekend experience held annually on the Fair Grounds Race Course at 1751 Gentilly Boulevard.
The first weekend kicks off Thursday, April 25 until Sunday, April 28 and the second weekend is Thursday, May 2 until Sunday, May 5 from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. each day.
Tickets and Cost How to enter
General Admission
Weekend 1: APRIL 25, 26, 27 OR 28
- Single Day Tickets
- Early Bird $85, Advance $95, Gate Price $105, Child Ticket $5
- 1st Weekend 4-Day
- Early Bird $290
- Advance $320
- GA+ 4-Day Wristband Passes (Re-entry access)
- Early Bird $499
- Advance $549
Weekend 2: MAY 3, 4 OR 5
- Single Day Tickets (NOT VALID MAY 2)
- Early Bird $85, Advance $95, Gate Price $105, Child Ticket $5
- 2nd Weekend 3-Day (NOT VALID MAY 2)
- Early Bird $240
- Advance $270
- GA+ 4-Day Wristband Passes (Re-entry access)
- Early Bird $749
Locals Thursday Discount Only on Thursday, April 25
- Gate Price $50
- LA residents will have an opportunity to purchase two admissions for $50 online at a later date or at the event box office on April 25 with valid Louisiana identification.
- Up to two admissions per resident
The festival also offers VIP Packages, starting at $1,850.
For more on tickets and prices click here.
What you need to know FAQ
Who's playing when?
What's the weather going to be like?
We've got you covered with the weekly forecast
Jazz Fest is cashless!!
No vendors - food, crafts, drinks or other merchandise accepts cash.
You can pay with:
- Credit or debit cards
- Prepaid cards
- Apple, Google or Samsung Pay
*If you bring cash, there are 2 cash exchange booths where you can give them cash and receive a prepaid card to use. Any balance left once you leave the festival can be used outside of the fest for purchases.
Where is everything?
Here's a link to the Fairgrounds map. See where your favorite booths, stages and most importantly, restrooms are located. You can also find the entrances there.
What can I bring?
- Coolers - 12 pack or smaller
- Bottled Water
- Snacks for personal consumption
- Umbrellas
- Strollers
- Collapsible chairs
- Service animals
- Wheelchairs or medical scooters
- Blankets and tarps
- Small bags or backpacks
What can't I bring?
- Wagons and pull carts
- Large chairs
- Outside beverages (except for bottled water)
- Hard coolers
- Bicycles
- Hula Hoops, frisbees, kites
- Pets (except service animals)
- Skateboards, segways, etc
- Stakes and poles
- Large, beach-style umbrellas
- Inflatables
- Glass
- Drones
- Playpens or portable cribs
Parking and Transportation Parking, Buses, and Shuttles
Parking and how to get there
*This information is straight from the Jazz Fest official site
On-site parking is available for pre-purchase ONLY with the Big Chief, Grand Marshal, and Krewe of Jazz Fest VIP packages. A limited number of Accessible spaces for people with disabilities will be for sale at the gate — first-come, first-served — at $50 per day. No parking or unloading on-site for oversized vehicles, such as RVs and charter buses. Limited parking for bicycles is available free of charge at the Gentilly Boulevard and Sauvage Street pedestrian gates.
Note: Parking in the surrounding neighborhood is restricted to residents only. Patrons are encouraged to use alternative modes of travel, such as Jazz Fest Express (The Official Jazz Fest Shuttle), public transportation, carpools, and bicycles.
The Jazz Fest Express shuttle in 2024 will provide continuous round-trip transportation between 4 departure points and the Fair Grounds, the site of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The shuttle operates all 8 days of the Fest from 10:30 am – 7:30 pm CT (or until all patrons have left the Fair Grounds). Festival gates open at 11 am daily.
DEPARTURE POINTS
Downtown:
French Quarter (Steamboat Natchez Dock) – Toulouse St. at the River (400 Toulouse St. on Google Maps).
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel – 500 Canal St.
A brand new location at South Market District (Poydras St. at Loyola Ave.)
City Park:
Wisner Lot – 5700 Wisner Blvd. on Google Maps (near Fillmore Ave.); parking included
Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.axs.com/events/511273/2024-new-orleans-jazz-heritage-festival-presented-by-shell-weekend-2-tickets?skin=nolajazzfest
For more Jazz Fest Express shuttle information, call Gray Line at (504) 569-1401 or (800) 233-2628 from 9am – 4pm CT daily.
https://www.graylineneworleans.com/jazz-fest-express
Bus and Streetcar service
The RTA is making some minor adjustments to their service while providing additional payment options for the next two weekends.
Mobile ticketing booths for the festival will be available.
The RTA will have the booths set in the CBD (intersection of Canal and Carondelet streets), at Walter “Wolfman” Washington Park (intersection of Grand Route St. John and Esplanade Avenue), and at the terminal for the 48 - Canal Streetcar-City Park/Museum (Carrollton Avenue near the circle in front of City Park).
Bus and Streetcar service changes
Service adjustments will be made to the 47 - Canal-Cemeteries and 48 - Canal-City Park/Museum streetcar lines which will now provide service from the CBD to the circle at City Park near the Fair Grounds. The RTA will provide bus service for passengers who traditionally try to catch the 47 - Canal Streetcar to the Cemeteries, via the bus shuttle from Carrollton Avenue and Canal Street.
Bus service for the 91 - Jackson/Esplanade route will be modified to account for heavy passenger demands near the festival location as buses become available.
Riders can download the Le Pass app to purchase tickets including packages such as the popular Jazzy Pass: 1-day pass for $3, 3-day for $8, 7-day for $15, and 31-day for $45.
Booths will be open while the festival is active – 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Visiting www.norta.com/ride-with-us/how-to-pay/fares; download our Le Pass app, available for Android at Google Play and for iPhone at the App Store.
For updates on your route and detours, please call the Rideline at (504) 248-3900, check the Le Pass app, visit norta.com/servicealerts or follow @neworleansrta on X