Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Ludacris, The Isley Brothers, Melissa Etheridge and Trombone Shorty are among the big names lining up for the stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The festival is slated to return this fall after a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers announced on Thursday.
The 2021 festival is scheduled to run Oct. 8-10 and Oct. 15-17.
“We were determined to put on this festival in October,” said Quint Davis, chief executive of Festival Productions Inc., which produces the event. “There were challenges in doing that but we don’t mind challenges.”
The festival normally runs the last weekend of April through the first weekend of May.
“I think people have come to realize how much the festival means to them,” he said. “And I think people are bursting to come, not only from New Orleans and Louisiana but from outside. We’re hearing that hotels are booking up and flights into the city are booking up too.”
Davis said he can’t wait for opening day.
“That’s going to be the happiest moment, when those gates at the Fair Grounds open and people come pouring in and the festival comes back to life,” he said. “I can’t wait.”