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The lineup for the 50th New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has been released and it will include headliners such as Dave Matthews Band, the Rolling Stones, and Katy Perry.
The diverse roster also features Santana, Pitbull, Al Green, Van Morrison, Logic, Gladys Knight, J. Balvin, Ciara, and Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Neville, Jerry Lee Lewis, and gospel singer Shirley Caesar.
“50 years is very rare and to be here, still, just as strong, just as relevant is amazing. For the Rolling Stones and Katy Perry – two of the most highly produced artists – to want to comes play our festival, held in a tent, during the day with the scent of BBQ and oyster po-boys wafting over the field, that’s just incredible,” according to festival producer Quint Davis.
The 2019 edition of the festival will be held over two consecutive weekends from April 25, to May and will commemorate 50 years of the iconic event.
Perry will perform on April 27, while the Stones will take over the largest stage of the festival on May 2.
There are some people that do not believe the Rolling Stones belong at the festival, but KEEL 101.7 FM/710 AM believes that they are one of the most important bands of all time because they kind of saved American roots music.
The Rolling Stones are a group from the U.K. and they grew up loving American Blues, such as Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and Howlin’ Wolf, to name a few.
When the Stones broke out in American, the cultural landscape had shifted. The American audience moved on from Elvis’ early work to the more pop-oriented sound of Tom Jones, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds.
When the Stones came to America they met Muddy Waters, Muddy was painting Chess offices because they were not selling albums. Then, the Stones showed up and played Blues covers, which turned America’s attention back to the source of the music that was the basis for the pop hits on the radio at the time. Additionally, the Stones were the first popular band where each band member was presented as an individual. Band members dressed differently, acted differently, why whole nine. Everyone had their own identity.
The Stones changed the dynamics of popular music. They broke the mold of pre-packaged, record label created bands like the Monkees. Additionally, they created a trend of artists being able to have their own identities, and they re-introduced the world to the Blues.
Tickets for the New Orleans 50th Jazz Festival are on sale now. Seeing the Stones will require a special ticket which is only valid for that day. For the first time, all of the festivals 11 other stages will go dark when the Stones hit the stage.
“Even though it’s going to be a full day, with performances on all 12 stages, we don’t want the stages where the Stones aren’t performing to compete for an audience.”
“We don’t want the other stages to not have any people there, so we’re gonna shut them down about an hour before the Stones perform, encourage them to get something to eat, to get a good spot and enjoy the show.”
According to Davis, the 50th anniversary festival will include at least 20 tributes honoring artists who helped shape New Orleans’ musical landscape. Tributes will include performances dedicated to Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Fats Domino, Pete Fountain, Allen Toussaint, Al Hirt, and Marsalis.
By Jeanette Smith
Sources:
The Jakarta Post: The Rolling Stones to headline the 50th anniversary Jazz Fest
KEEL 101.7 FM/710 AM: The Importance of the Rolling Stones on American Culture
Spy: The Rolling Stones to headline at New Orleans
Image Courtesy of sam.romilly’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
