French Quarter Festival has revealed that over 700,000 people attended its 34th edition between April 6 and 9. Over 1,700 Louisiana musicians performed on 23 stages over the course of the four-day event, which featured a record-breaking 44 first-time artists.

One of those first-timers was Aaron Neville, who made his French Quarter Fest debut with a Thursday afternoon show on the Abita Beer Stage. His headlining set played no small part in the fact that Thursday attendance increased by a whopping 60% this year (it was also a factor in the overwhelming number of folding chairs that contributed to the congestion at the Abita Beer Stage that day). In addition to the stellar programming, this year’s attendance was bolstered by gorgeous weather that brought plenty of sunshine and comfortable temperatures to the New Orleans area throughout the weekend.

While 700,000 is a respectably large number of people, it’s still a bit less than the roughly 760,000 people who attended last year’s record-breaking French Quarter Fest. However, this year did see the highest volume of food, beverage and merchandise sales, and that’s great news for a free festival that generates much of its revenue in those areas.

As previously reported, French Quarter Fest featured sets from Louisiana artists like Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, Honey Island Swamp Band, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Tank and The Bangas, John Boutte, the Soul Rebels, Astral Project and many more. Since its first edition in 1984, it has become the largest free music festival in the United States. You can read about every artist on the 2017 lineup here.