Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band, Luke Combs, Lil Wane & The Roots, Lenny Kravitz, Kacey Muscraves, Santana and John Fogerty are the headliners for the 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, more popularly known as Jazz Fest.
The 2025 dates are April 24-May 4.
Dave Matthews Band, Lil Wayne & The Roots, Kacey Musgraves, John Fogerty, Burna Boy, HAIM, Harry Connick Jr., Goose, Gladys Knight, Cheap Trick, all play on the first wekeend, which is April 24-27. Pearl Jam, Luke Combs, Lenny Kravitz, Santana, Cage The Elephant, Laufey, Bryson Tiller, Patti LaBelle, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are all on the second weekend, which is May1-4. Of course, typical of Jazz Fest, there are hundreds more bands during this eight-day, two-weekend music and Cajun cultural extravaganza, which takes place at the Fair Grounds Race Course.
Tickets start at $329 for a four-day pass and go up to $1,899 for what it calls the “Big Chief VIP” tickets. Single-day tickets go on sale closer to the event. They can be purchased in advance on the official Jazz Fest website or – if things haven’t changed since PubClub.com’s last visit – you can get them at the gate each day, tho for a slightly higher price than is available on line ($105 as opposed to $95).
New Orleans Jazz Fest is more than about the music, tho there’s plenty of that and savvy veterans know to check out all the music on all the stages because even bands you never heard of my be rippin’ it. There is also beer, sold in mass quanties so as to fill up coolers. They will even give you ice. There is also the food, which has vendors selling really good New Orleans dishes ranging from gumbo to po’ boys to jambalaya to crawfish, and even Bananas Foster. Note that Jazz Fest is now a cashless event.
Being New Orelans, the weather can be anything from super hot and humid to a downpour. And perhaps all of those things in a single weekend. But the shows go on because this is New Orleans and Jazz Fest means music and more.
It’s a good idea before you go over this checklist of Jazz Fest survival tips so you’re properly mentallhy prepared for the fun.
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