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French Quarter Fest kicks off Thursday after two year hiatus

Starting at 10 a.m., a kickoff parade will travel from Bourbon Street to Jackson Square, followed by an opening ceremony.
Credit: AP
Gretchen Newman and Steven Yesner, of Albequerque, dance to live music on the first day of the annual French Quarter Festival in New Orleans, Thursday, April 11, 2013. French Quarter Festival, which turns 30 this year, runs through Sunday and showcases Louisiana food and music on stages strung throughout the historic neighborhood, including Jackson Square, the French Market, along narrow streets and on the Mississippi riverfront. The lineup includes Irma Thomas, trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, Cajun fiddler Amanda Shaw, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and about 250 other acts. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

NEW ORLEANS — After a two year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the French Quarter Fest makes its triumphant return Thursday through Sunday. Now, nearly 300 bands are getting ready to perform across 20 stages.

Starting at 10 a.m., a kickoff parade will travel from Bourbon Street to Jackson Square, followed by an opening ceremony. Opening day highlights include Preservation Brass, Lost Bayou Rambler's, Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet, Sweet Crude and Cole Williams Band.

 Click here for festival map. Visit frenchquarterfest.org or download the app for the complete schedule.

“We are returning strong with over 1,800 local musicians, more than 40 chefs and restaurants, new interactive fan experiences, and evening programming across the city," said Emily Madero, President and CEO of FQFI. FQFI is proud to kick off the festival season in New Orleans with a truly authentic celebration and we welcome everyone to join us for an unforgettable four days.”

Other festival highlights include Tank and the Bangas, John Boutte, Amanda Shaw and Rickie Lee Jones with an Evening Concert Series that includes Irma Thomas, Rockin’ Dopsie and Big Chief Bo Dollis, among others.

The Festival will also feature a schoolhouse stage at the Homer A. Plessy Community School where an array of up and coming middle and high school artists will perform.

New Orleans leaders are asking people to prepare for heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic. They are encouraging rideshare and RTA transportation options.

"If you have to use your vehicle, park somewhere well lit and do not leave any valuables in plain sight," New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said.

French Quarter Fest Schedule

THURSDAY, April 21, 2022 *Festival debuts Alex McMurray ● Babineaux Sisters Band ● Bag of Donuts ● Chapel Hart Band ● Cole Williams Band ● Corey Henry & the Treme Funktet ● Dave Jordan & the NIA ● Elizabeth Lyons ● Eric Traub Legacy Band ● Joe Hall & The Cane Cutters ● Joe Krown & Jason Ricci ● John Lisi & Delta Funk! ● Johnny Sansone ● Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers ● Lena Prima ● Lost Bayou Ramblers ● MainLine ● Margie Perez ● New Birth Brass Band ● New Wave Brass Band ● Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show ● Rechelle Cook and the Regeneration Band ● Shannon Powell Traditional All-Star Band ● Soul Creole ● Susan Cowsill ● Sweet Crude ● T'Canaille ● TBC Brass Band ● The Dirty Dozen Brass Band ● Troy Sawyer and the Elementz ● Water Seed

FRIDAY, April 22, 2022 *Festival debuts *Alexey Marti ● Banu Gibson ● Bill Summers & Jazzalsa ● * Blackcat Zydeco featuring Dwight Carrier ● Burris ● Caren Green ● Da Truth Brass Band ● DinosAurchestra ● Donna Angelle & the Zydeco Posse ● Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers ● George Porter, Jr. & the Runnin' Pardners ● Higher Heights Reggae Band ● Hot 8 Brass Band ● Irma Thomas, Soul Queen of New Orleans ● * J & the Causeways ● Jamal Batiste Band ● Joe Lastie's New Orleans Sound ● Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes ● Juju Child & The Hypnotic Roots Band ● Kumasi ● Lisa Amos ● *Loose Cattle ● Lulu and the Broadsides ● Maggie Koerner ● Magnetic Ear ● *Mason Trail and Zydeco Rhythm ● Mykia Jovan ● New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings ● New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra feat. Lars Edegran ● New Orleans Suspects ● Palmetto Bug Stompers ● Quarx ● *Rickie Lee Jones ● Rickie Monie & Traditional Jazz Ramblers ● Robin Barnes & The Fiyabirds ● Sam Price & the True Believers ● Steve Pistorius & the Southern Syncopators ● Storyville Stompers Brass Band ● Tasche De La Rocha● The Dukes of Dixieland ● The Iguanas ● * The Lilli Lewis Project ● The Nation of Gumbollia ● The Original Pinettes Brass Band ● The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band ● The Revealers ● Tuba Skinny ● Valerie Sassyfras ● Wendell Brunious ● Wild Bill ● Tank and the Bangas

SATURDAY, April 23, 2022 *Festival debuts A2D2 Experience ● Amanda Shaw ● Amigos do Samba ● Anaïs St. John ● And Then Came Humans ● André Bohren with the Electric Yat Quartet ● Andrew Hall's Memories of New Orleans ● Aurora Nealand & the Royal Roses ● Bamboula 2000 ● Benny Grunch & the Bunch ● Big 6 Brass Band ● Big Chief Bo Dollis, Jr. & the Wild Magnolias ● Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles ● Big Frank & Lil Frank and the Dirty Old Men ● Blake Amos ● Bonerama ● Brandon Moreau and his Cajungrass ● Capt. John Royen and N.O. Rhythm ● Chance Bushman & The Ibervillianaires ● Charlie Halloran and the Tropicales ● Charmaine Neville ● Christian Serpas & Ghost Town ● Claude Bryant and The Allstars ● Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble ● Dance Lesson ● Dash Rip Rock ● Deacon John and the Ivories with special guests Hot Rod Lincoln ● DeJan's Olympia Brass Band ● Duz Mancini & The Wasted Shades ● Erica Falls ● Evan Christopher's Clarinet Road ● *Fermín Ceballos + Merengue4FOUR ● Fontainebleau High School Jazz Ensemble One ● Garden District Jazz Band ● Gary Negbaur ● Ghalia Volt ● *Gumbeaux Juice feat an All Star Lineup ● Harmonouche ● James Andrews ● James Martin Band ● Jamey St. Pierre and The Honeycreepers ● *Jamie Lynn Vessels ● Jamil Sharif ● Jesse McBride presents the Next Generation ● John "Papa" Gros ● Joy Clark ● Juno Dunes ● Katy Hobgood Ray ● Keith Burnstein ● Lawrence Cotton Legendary Experience ● Louis Ford & His New Orleans Flairs ● Make Music NOLA ● Marc Stone ● Mark Braud’s New Orleans Jazz Giants ● Mestre Curtis Pierre and the Samba Man ● Mia Borders ● Mike Doussan ● Mikhala "Jazz Muffin" Iversen ● Miss Sophie Lee ● Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas ● Naughty Professor ● New Orleans Classic Jazz Orchestra ● New Orleans Nightcrawlers ● NPS Arrowhead Jazz Band ● Onward Brass Band ● Pierre A. Capdau Charter School Marching Band ● Red Hot Brass Band ● Ryan Hall ● Sarah Quintana ● Seva Venet’s Storyville Stringband ● Sullivan Dabney's Muzik Jazz Band ● Thais Clark & her JAZZsters ● The Beignet Orchestra ● The Daiquiri Queens ● The Dick Deluxe Revue ● The Frederick A. Douglass Legacy Chorale ● The Irene Sage Band ● The Nayo Jones Experience ● The Smoking Time Jazz Club ● The Smoky Greenwell Band ● The Soul Rebels ● The Steve Rohbock Group ● The Tin Men ● Tim Laughlin ● Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band ● Trombone Shorty Academy ● *Vegas Cola Band ● Walter "Wolfman" Washington and the Roadmasters ● Wynton (aka Kevin Stylez) ● Young Indians of the Nation

SUNDAY, April 24, 2022 *Festival debuts Alfred Banks w/ Sax Kix Ave ● Andrew Duhon ● Astral Project Barbara Shorts and Blue Jazz ● Beth Patterson ● *Big Chief Juan Pardo & The Golden Comanches ● Bon Bon Vivant ● Broke Down Streetcar ● Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band ● Bucktown All-Stars ● Cameron Dupuy and The Cajun Troubadours ● Charlie Wooton’s Zydefunk ● Christien Bold & SoulSwing ● Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band ● Clive Wilson's New Orleans Serenaders ● Creole String Beans ● Cullen Landry and the Midnight Streetcar Band featuring Al "Carnival Time" Johnson ● Dancing at Dusk with Tom Saunders and the Tomcats ● Dave Ferrato & Later, On Decatur ● Davis Rogan ● Debbie Davis and Josh Paxton Duo ● Don Jamison Heritage School of Music ● Don Vappie & Banjo a la Créole ● Ever More Nest ● Flow Tribe ● Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestras ● Green Gasoline ● Helen Gillet & Wazozo ● Honey Island Swamp Band ● Hot Club of New Orleans ● Jack Sledge ● Jeremy Davenport ● Joe Cabral Thrio ● John Boutté ● John F Kennedy Senior High School-JDrum Section ● John Mahoney Little Band ● Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen ● Jumbo Shrimp Jazz Band ● Kid Simmons Jazz Band ● Kim Carson & the Real Deal ● Little Freddie King ● Lynn Drury ● Mahogany Brass Band ● Mark Brooks ● Mayumi Shara & New Orleans Jazz Letters ● McDonough 35 Senior High School Marching Band ● Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns ● Mikayla Braun ● Mike Harvey's Hot Club ● Naydja CoJoe ● New Orleans Swamp Donkeys ● NOCCA Jazz Ensemble ● NORUZ ● Notel Motel ● On the Levee Jazz Band ● Papa Mali ● Papo y Son Mandao ● Pat Casey & the New Sound ● Paulin Brothers Jazz Band ● Red Wolf Brass Band ● Rhodes Spedale & Live Jazz Group ● Rick Trolsen's New Orleans Po' Boys ● Riverdale High School Band ● Rockin' Dopsie Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters ● Shad Weathersby and Mike Artell ● Shake Em' Up Jazz Band ● Songs for Junior Rangers featuring Sam Kuslan ● Sick Ride ● Soul Brass Band ● Sporty's Brass Band ● The Dixie Cups ● The Garden of Joy ● The New Orleans Jazz Vipers ● The New Orleans Klezmer All Stars ● The New Orleans Swinging G’s ● The NOCCA Jazz Ensemble ● The Pfister Sisters ● The Steamboat Willie Jazz Band ● The Suplecs ● The Unnaturals ● Topsy Chapman and Solid Harmony ● Treme Brass Band ● Vivaz! Trio ● Wanda Rouzan and a Taste of New Orleans ● Washboard Chaz Blues Trio ● Waylon Thibodeaux Band ● Zena Moses & Rue Fiya ● *Zulu Gospel Choir

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