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JAZZ
FEST ANNOUNCES 2008 MUSIC LINEUP FOR FULL SEVEN-DAY FESTIVAL: APRIL
25 - 27 & MAY 1 – 4
The Neville Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Tim
McGraw, Santana, Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, Sheryl Crow, Widespread
Panic, Dr. John, Al Green, Diana Krall, Keyshia Cole, Robert Plant
and Alison Krauss, The Raconteurs, Irma Thomas and thousands more
scheduled to appear!
New Orleans, LA (January 24, 2008)—The return
of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell,
one of America’s most celebrated celebrations, to its first
full seven days of programming since 2005 has inspired Festival organizers
to assemble the deepest overall mix of rhythm & blues, rock, jazz,
country, blues, gospel, world beat, and more in the 39-year history
of the event.
The Neville Brothers, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Tim
McGraw, Santana, Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, Sheryl Crow, Widespread
Panic, Dr. John, Al Green, Diana Krall, Keyshia Cole, Robert Plant
and Alison Krauss, The Raconteurs, Irma Thomas, Steel Pulse, John
Prine, Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint, Randy Newman, Bobby McFerrin
and Chick Corea, O.A.R., Galactic, The Roots, Dianne Reeves, Michael
Franti & Spearhead, Burning Spear, Ozomatli with Chali 2na, Rebirth
Brass Band, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Tower of Power, Delbert McClinton,
John Hammond, Cassandra Wilson, Keb’ Mo’, The Count Basie
Orchestra feat. Patti Austin, Pete Fountain, The Derek Trucks Band,
Richard Thompson, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, The Radiators,
James Cotton, Cupid, The John Butler Trio, Del McCoury, Vernel Bagneris:
Jelly Roll & Me, Terence Blanchard with the Louisiana Philharmonic
Orchestra, Buckwheat Zydeco, John P. Kee & the New Life Community
Choir, Cowboy Mouth, Byron Cage with Kim Burrell, Bishop Paul S. Morton,
Sr. and the Greater St. Stephen Choir, Trinitee 5:7, Lizz Wright,
Voices of the Wetlands Allstars, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Bad Plus,
Carolina Chocolate Drops, Bettye LaVette, Trombone Shorty & Orleans
Ave., Gene “Duke of Earl” Chandler, Preservation Hall
Jazz Band, Davell Crawford’s N.O. R & B Orchestra, Henry
Butler, Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, Leo Nocentelli’s “Rare
Gathering," Lee Boys, Harlem Blues and Jazz Band, MOOV of Martinique,
Jackson Southernaires, Big Jay McNeely, Paul Porter of the Legendary
Christianaires, Nicholas Payton and thousands more are scheduled to
appear at this year’s celebration, set for April 25 –
27 and May 1 - 4. (Click
here for a complete day-by-day schedule).
Quint Davis, producer/director of the Festival, said, “Welcoming
Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Tim McGraw, Sheryl Crow, and Keyshia Cole
for the first time, in the same year that we’ve added the Thursday
back to the Festival—and in the same year we’re bringing
back all-time Fest favorites The Neville Brothers, Jimmy Buffett,
Santana, Widespread Panic, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, and Diana
Krall, among so many others—speaks to our serious effort to
grow the Festival at a time when New Orleans needs it the most.”
Davis
added that he hopes this year’s fully rejuvenated Festival,
which will have an estimated economic impact on Louisiana of approximately
$300 million, will have special meaning for the city it represents.
“In New Orleans, culture is a beacon for the rest of the community.
When a trumpeter blows the right notes, we come together and dance.
When a grand marshal steps, we step with him. Jazz Fest is trying
to help lead the way in guiding New Orleans to complete recovery—culturally,
economically and spiritually.”
Annually drawing tens of thousands of fans each day, the Festival
will again be held at the Fair Grounds Race Course and run from 11:00
a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Eleven stages of simultaneous music programming
are complemented by an important, unparalleled Food Fair offering
more than 100 varieties of authentic Louisiana cuisine and a stunning
array of one-of-a-kind crafts available around the grounds in the
Festival’s juried crafts areas.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, Inc. will hold its
10th Annual Gala fundraiser on Thursday, April 24 at the Hilton New
Orleans Riverside. Little Richard, the original wild man of rock 'n
roll, will give his only Jazz Fest performance at the Gala. Also featured
will be R&B legend Deacon John and the Ivories, bringing a contemporary
high energy mix of Motown, Memphis and Louisiana R&B. Individual
tickets are $500 and tables of ten are $5,000. For tickets and additional
information to the Gala, call (504) 558-6100.
A listing of hotels offering special Jazz Fest rates is posted at
www.nojazzfest.com, where
the Festival is launching a new hotel booking initiative to allow
patrons to effortlessly reserve their hotel rooms for the event. Festivalgoers
can peruse room availabilities and book their accommodations early
taking advantage of some of the best prices offered at participating
hotels.
Tickets to the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented
by Shell are on sale at www.nojazzfest.com
and www.ticketmaster.com, at all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling
(800) 488-5252 (outside Louisiana) and (504) 522-5555 (New Orleans).
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Jazz Fest ticket office
located at the Louisiana Superdome, 1500 Sugar Bowl Drive, Gate A
Ground Level. Tickets to Jazz Fest are on sale by specific weekend,
with each ticket valid for a single day’s attendance. Tickets
for Thursday, May 1 are $30 in advance, $40 at the gate. Tickets for
any other Festival day are $40 in advance, $50 at the gate. Children’s
tickets (ages 2 - 11) are only $5 in advance or at the gate.
A limited number of Jazz Fest’s popular Big Chief VIP Experience
packages featuring a full weekend pass and VIP amenities are available
for $750 for the 1st weekend, $900 with parking and $800 for the 2nd
weekend, $1000 with parking. A new premium ticket called the Grand
Marshal VIP Pass that allows front-row, standing-room viewing at the
Festival’s three biggest stages are also on sale now while very
limited supplies last – 1st weekend is $450, or $600 with parking
and 2nd weekend is $500, or $700 with parking. Additional ticket and
VIP information is available at www.nojazzfest.com.
Watch for details on the famous official Jazz Fest posters and BayouWear
brand clothing in mid-February.
Shell is the Presenting Sponsor of the Festival. Acura, People’s
Health, Miller Lite, AIG, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation
& Tourism, the new AT&T, Southern Comfort, Sheraton New Orleans
Hotel, Capital One, Borders Books and Music, Rajen Kilachand, Zatarain’s,
St. Charles Vision are all also official Jazz Fest sponsors.
Gray Line Tours/Hotard Destination Services will operate continuous
round-trip transportation – the Jazz Fest Express – from
the Sheraton Hotel, the Gray Line Lighthouse at the Steamboat Natchez
Wharf (Toulouse St. at the River – next to Jax Brewery), and
Marconi Meadows (City Park) daily from 10:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
A special entrance will be used only by Jazz Fest Express vehicles
to avoid traffic and bring Festivalgoers inside the gates of the Festival.
Add $16 ($14 City Park) to the price of a Festival admission ticket
for this round-trip transportation service. Admission and Jazz Fest
Express tickets are available for sale on the days of the Festival
from these locations or in advance through Ticketmaster. For more
information, call (504) 569-1401 or (800) 535-7786. Gray Line is the
official operator of the Jazz Fest Express.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.
is the nonprofit organization that owns the New Orleans Jazz &
Heritage Festival presented by Shell, and uses the proceeds to fund
year-round community development activities in the areas of education,
economic development and cultural programming. Programs and assets
of the foundation include: radio station WWOZ 90.7-FM; the New Orleans
Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive; the Don Jamison Heritage School
of Music; the Tom Dent Congo Square Lecture Series; the Jazz Journey
concert series; the Community Partnership Grants program; the Raisin’
the Roof housing initiative; and the S.E.E.D. micro-loan program for
entrepreneurs. The foundation also produces community events such
as the Crescent City Blues Festival, Fiesta Latina, the Congo Square
Rhythms Festival, the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival, the Down By
the Riverside Thanksgiving concert and others. For more information
on the Foundation, visit www.jazzandheritage.org.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell is
a co-production of Festival Productions, L.L.C. (a wholly owned subsidiary
of Festival Productions, Inc.-New Orleans) and AEG Louisiana Production,
L.L.C. (a subsidiary of AEG LIVE)
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