Update: Aretha Franklin, previously announced as headlining talent for Jazz Fest 2018, has been replaced. Rod Stewart will take her slot on Saturday, April 28.
According to a press statement from Jazz Fest organizers, “Aretha Franklin has been ordered by her doctor to stay off the road and rest completely for at least the next two months. She is extremely disappointed she cannot perform at this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as she had expected and hoped to.” Below, check out OffBeat.com’s original announcement of the full lineup (by day) for Jazz Fest 2018.
Update: LL Cool J is one of hip-hop’s most decorated MCs. He recently bridged worlds by becoming the Kennedy Center’s first ever honoree from the world of rap and now, the 50-year-old Queens, New York icon has announced he’s bringing the show on the road, straight to New Orleans. He will bring DJ Z-Trip along for the ride on Friday, May 4.
It’s in the air. Can you feel it? Mardi Gras season is here, which basically means it’s time for New Orleans to start planning for Jazz Fest 2018. Right?
If you’re not thinking that far ahead yet, perhaps the lineup will get you in the mood. Running April 27-29 and May 3-6 at the Fair Grounds Race Course, Jazz Fest 2018 will be the 49th annual internationally acclaimed festival organized by the Jazz & Heritage Foundation. It will be buoyed by headlining performances from huge names in rock, soul, hip-hop and, of course, jazz. Here’s the full lineup, by day:
Friday, April 27:
Sting, Sturgill Simpson, Steel Pulse, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Ron Carter Trio, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Jon Cleary, Samantha Fish, Davell Crawford, Jake Shimabukuro, Wayne Toups, Luther Kent & Trickbag, Bobby Rush, Leslie Odom Jr., Eric Lindell, Sidi Toure of Mali, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Big Chief Donald Harrison, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Ten Strings And A Goat Skin of Canada, Meschiya Lake & the Little Big Horns, New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Zulu Gospel Ensemble, Semolian Warriors Mardi Gras Indians, The Palm Court Jazz Band with Sammy Rimington, New Wave Brass Band, Rumba Buena, Batiste Fathers & Sons, The Deslondes, Shades of Praise, Yvette Landry, Free Agents Brass Band, Alexey Marti, Micah Stampley, Spencer Bohren & the Whippersnappers, Corey Ledet & His Zydeco Band, Golden Sioux and Black Seminoles Mardi Gras Indians, Kod Kreyol and the Creole Dance Ensemble of Haiti, Clive Wilson’s New Orleans Serenaders with Butch Thompson, Sarah Quintana & the Miss River Band, Papo y Son Mandao, Bamboula 2000, Pastor Jai Reed, The New Orleans Guitar Masters feat. Cranston Clements, John Rankin, and Jimmy Robinson, The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music Jazz Ensemble, Tonia Scott & the Anointed Voices, Big Chief Juan & Jockimo’s Groove, Tribute to Billie Holiday with Sharon Martin & Company, Northern Cree of Canada, Kyle Huval & the Dixie Club Ramblers, We Are One, Perfect Gentlemen, and Keep N It Real Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Michael Skinkus and Moyuba, Jon Roniger & The Good for Nothin’ Band, Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band, Jesse McBride presents The Next Generation, The Bester Gospel Singers, The Dynamic Smooth Family Gospel Singers, David & Roselyn, Arrianne Keelen, Mykia Jovan, Dillard University’s VisionQuest Gospel Chorale, Free Spirits Brass Band, Go Getters and Big Nine Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Calvin Johnson’s Native Son – Stories of Sidney Bechet feat. Aurora Nealand and Brian “Breeze” Cayolle, Dancing Grounds Youth Showcase, University of New Orleans Jazz Allstars, Kid Simmons’ Local International Allstars, KID smART Student Showcase, Ladies of Unity LLC, Wild Apaches, Black Mohawk, and Black Foot Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Young Audiences Performing Arts Showcase, and Adella Adella the Storyteller.
Saturday, April 28:
Aretha Franklin, Khalid, Bonnie Raitt, Jack Johnson, Common, Tribute to Fats Domino with special guest Jerry Lee Lewis, Big Freedia, The Fabulous Thunderbirds featuring Kim Wilson, Charles Lloyd & The Marvels with special guest Lucinda Williams, The Last Bandoleros, Sona Jobarteh and Band of Gambia, Hot 8 Brass Band, Los Silver Stars of Honduras, Sonny Landreth, Bonerama, Terrance Simien and The Zydeco Experience, Lena Prima and her Tribute to Louis Prima, Jerron ‘Blind Boy’ Paxton, Pine Leaf Boys, Delfeayo Marsalis presents the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, Creole String Beans, Chilluns with Cranston and Annie Clements, Dave, Johnny, and Darcy Malone, Spencer and Andre Bohren, Original Pinettes Brass Band, New Orleans Gospel Soul Children, Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, Northern Cree of Canada, Gregg Stafford’s Jazz Hounds, Vishten of Canada, Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians, Kod Kreyol and the Creole Dance Ensemble of Haiti, Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars, Johnson Extension, Aurora Nealand & The Royal Roses, Leah Chase, Eddie Cotton, New Orleans Klezmer Allstars with guest Steven Bernstein, Ed Volker and Los Reyes de Lagardo, Andrew Duhon, Tin Men, New Birth Brass Band, Butler Bernstein & The Hot 9, Nigel Hall Band, Anthony Brown & group therAPy, The Mulligan Brothers, Cha Wa, Leo Jackson & the Melody Clouds, Trumpet Mafia, Grupo Sensacion, Comanche Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Johnette Downing and Scott Billington, New Orleans Tricentennial 100 Voices Youth Choir, Scott D., Sweet Cecilia, Tracksuit Wedding, Rusty Metoyer & The Zydeco Krush, Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble, Paulin Brothers Brass Band, First Emanuel Baptist Church Mass Choir, The Wimberly Family Gospel Singers, Orange Kellin’s New Orleans DeLuxe Orchestra, Versailles Lion Dance Team, Baby Boyz Brass Band, Nine Times, Single Men, and Single Ladies Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Archdiocese of New Orleans Gospel Choir, Arthur and Friends Community Choir, Xavier University Jazz Ensemble, Young Guardians of the Flame, Washitaw Nation and Wild Mohicans Mardi Gras Indians, Magical Moonshine Theatre, Loyola University Jazz Band, Crescent City Lights Youth Theater, The RRAAMS, DJ Kelly Green, 21st Century Brass Band, Good Fellas, Dumaine Street Gang, Divine Ladies, and Family Ties Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Creole Osceolas, and the Seminoles and Ninth Ward Black Hatchet Mardi Gras Indians.
Sunday, April 29:
Jimmy Buffett and his Acoustic Airmen, David Byrne, George Benson, Charlie Wilson, Irma Thomas, John Mayall, Jon Batiste with The Dap-Kings, Doug Kershaw & Friends, Tab Benoit, Chocolate Milk, Hezekiah Walker, Amanda Shaw, John Boutte, Sweet Crude, Magnificent 7 with Dave Malone, John Papa Gros, Tommy Malone, Mark Mullins, Robert Mercurio, Raymond Weber, and Michael Skinkus, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & The Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians, Dr. Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band with Thais Clark, Nicholas Payton, Meschiya Lake Remembers Sweet Emma Barrett, Treme Brass Band, The Electrifying Crown Seekers, Imagination Movers, Henry Butler & The Jambalaya Band, Socks in the Frying Pan of Ireland, Paul Sanchez & the Rolling Road Show, Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88’s, Royal Teeth, Kenny Neal with guests Henry Gray and Lazy Lester, Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton with special guest Henry Butler, Vishten of Canada, Kim Carson & the Real Deal, The Rocks of Harmony, Trout Fishing in America, Johnny Sketch and The Dirty Notes, Erica Falls, Brother Tyrone & the Mindbenders, Lil’ Nathan & the Zydeco Big Timers, Savoy Family Cajun Band, Supaman, Jambalaya Cajun Band presents a Tribute to DL Menard with Larry Menard, Kidd Jordan & the Improvisational Art Quintet, Tuba Skinny, John Mahoney Big Band, The Creole Jazz Serenaders with Don Vappie, Cynthia Girtley’s Tribute to Mahalia Jackson, Panorama Jazz Band, Dr. Brice Miller & Mahogany Brass Band, Helen Gillet, Lynn Drury, Jonte Landrum, Val & Love Alive Choir, St. Joseph the Worker Music Ministry, TBC Brass Band, Lacee and Lebrado, Kod Kreyol and the Creole Dance Ensemble of Haiti, Big Chief Kevin Goodman & The Flaming Arrows Mardi Gras Indians, Barbara Shorts and Blue Jazz, Northern Cree of Canada, Da Truth Brass Band, Big Steppers, Untouchables, and Furious Five Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Harris Family Cajun Band, Tyronne Foster & The Arc Singers, Young Seminole Hunters and Black Feathers Mardi Gras Indians, Northside Skull & Bones Gang, The City of Love Music & Worship Arts Choir, Chris Clifton & His Allstars, Rahim Glaspy, NOCCA Jazz Ensemble, Ashe Cultural Arts Center Kuumba Institute, Chakra and Omosede Dance Theatre, Tornado Brass Band, Uptown Swingers, New Look, First Division, and Young Men Olympia Aid Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Theatre on Tap, Monogram Hunters, Ninth Ward Hunters and Shining Star Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, and the Puppetry Arts Theatre.
Thursday, May 3:
Lionel Richie, Toots & The Maytals, Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, Blind Boys of Alabama, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Telmary y Habana Sana de Cuba, Archie Shepp Quartet feat. vocalist Marion Rampa, Cyril Neville’s Swamp Funk featuring Omari Neville & The Fuel, Susan Cowsill, Hot Rize, Honey Island Swamp Band, Jeremy Davenport, John Mooney & Bluesiana, Stooges Brass Band, Hot Jazz of France with Avalon Jazz Band, Joe Krown Trio featuring Walter Wolfman Washington, Banu Gibson with guest Vince Giordano, The Roots of Music Marching Crusaders, Le Ker Creole featuring Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, Real Untouchable Brass Band, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, Gal Holiday, Jamaican Me Breakfast Club, Patrice Fisher & Arpa with guests from Guatemala, Seguenon Kone & Ivoire Spectacle, Evangelist Jackie Tolbert & the Gospel Ensemble, J. Monque’D Blues Revue, OperaCreole, Santiman and Garifuna Generation, Caesar Brothers FunkBox, Goldman Thibodeaux & the Lawtell Playboys, Cheyenne and 7th Ward Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Terrace Martin, Pocket Aces Brass Band, Toronzo Cannon, The Walls Group, The Chosen Ones Brass Band, VIP Ladies, Men of Class, and New Generation Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Raphael Bas and Harmonouche, The Jones Sisters, Wendell Brunious & the New Orleans Allstars, Preservation Brass, Larry Sieberth presents The Art of the Voice with Tonya Boyd-Cannon, Yolanda Robinson, and JarellB, Bantam Foxes, Naughty Professor, New Soul Inc., Higher Heights Reggae, The Revelers, Jamil Sharif, Alex McMurray and His Band, Pat Casey and the New Sound, Shaun Ward Xperience, Bonsoir, Catin, The Rayo Brothers, The Tangiers Combo, Nineveh Baptist Church Mass Choir, Isabel Davis, White Cloud Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, SUBR Jazzy Jags, McDonogh 35 High School Gospel Choir, Eleanor McMain Singing Mustangs, Micaela y Fiesta Flamenca, Native Nations Intertribal, Smoking Time Jazz Club, Katy Hobgood Ray, Clay Parker and Jodi James, Sporty’s Brass Band, Revolution, Sudan, and Men Buckjumpers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Delgado Community College Jazz Ensemble, Landy Walker Charter High School Choir, ISL Circus Arts Kids, Calliope Puppets, and Ecole Bilingue of New Orleans.
Friday, May 4:
Beck, Sheryl Crow, LL Cool J, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Aaron Neville, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Tank & The Bangas, Ruthie Foster, Marcia Ball, Marcus Miller with special guest Rahsaan Patterson Celebrate Al Jarreau, Hiss Golden Messenger, Little Freddie King Blues Band, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas, Darcy Malone & The Tangle, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, Zachary Richard, The Soul Rebels, C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Lil’ Buck Sinegal’s Blues Band with special guest Barbara Lynn, New Orleans Hip Hop Experience Feat. Fiend, 3D Natee, a New Orleans Cypher, DJ Keith Scott, and Cool Nasty Band, Jupiter & Okwess of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band, James Andrews & the Crescent City All Stars, Glen David Andrews and the Treme Gospel Choir, CC Adcock + The Lafayette Marquis, Avalon Jazz Band, Don Vappie’s Tribute to King Oliver, Motel Radio, Germaine Bazzle, Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church Mass Choir, Wess Anderson Quintet, New Breed Brass Band, Mark Braud’s New Orleans Jazz Giants, Stars of Heaven, Big Chief Bird & the Young Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Hot Club of New Orleans, Herbert McCarver & the Pin Stripe Brass Band, Sean Bruce, The Tumbling Wheels, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, The Nth Power, Players Ella and Louie Tribute Band, Naydja Cojoe & the Lagniappe Section, Plaquemine Brulee, Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans, Maggie Bell Band, JIVA-NOLA featuring Mehnaz Hoosein & Andrew McLean, Brian Seeger Organ Trio, Betty Winn & One A-Chord, New Leviathan Oriental Fox-Trot Orchestra, Da Souljas Brass Band, Original Four, and Original Big 7 Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, The Pure’D Blues Group feat. Butch Mudbone, Golden Comanche and Young Cherokee Mardi Gras Indians, Glenn Hartman & The Earthtones present Polka and Cajun Connection, The Swing Setters, Josh Kagler & Harmonistic Praise Crusade, Kumasi, John Lawrence and Ven Pa’ Ca Flamenco with guest Antonio Hildago of Spain, 79rs Gang Mardi Gras Indians, Donald Lewis, Native Nations Intertribal, Topsy Chapman & Solid Harmony, The Gospel Inspirations of Boutte, Young Eagles and Algiers Warriors Mardi Gras Indians, Caren Green & Cornbread, Tipitina’s Interns under the direction of Donald Harrison, Jr., The New Orleans Baby Doll Ladies, Kumbuka African Dance & Drum Collective, Pastor Terry Gullage & the Greater Mt. Calvary Voices of Redemption, Gray Hawk presents Native American Lore, New Generation Brass Band, Scene Boosters and Lady & Men Rollers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Lake Forest Charter Jazz Ensemble, and Pastor Tyrone Jefferson.
Saturday, May 5:
Aerosmith, Anita Baker, Cage the Elephant, The Revivalists, Juanes, Delbert McClinton & Self Made Men, Dianne Reeves, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Better Than Ezra, The Bounce feat. Cupid, 5th Ward Weebie, DJ Jubilee, Partners-N-Crime, Ricky B with DJ Raj Smoove, Tamela Mann, Deacon John, Cowboy Mouth, Boyfriend, New Orleans Classic R&B Legends featuring The Dixie Cups, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Wanda Rouzan, and Al “Carnival Time” Johnson with Bobby Cure & the Poppa Stoppas, Kermit Ruffins’ Tribute to Louis Armstrong, Walter Trout, The Lee Boys, GIVERS, The East Pointers of Canada, Jupiter & Okwess of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Big Chief Bo Dollis, Jr. & The Wild Magnolias, Jermaine Landrum & The Abundant Praise Revival Choir, James Rivers Movement, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Lurrie Bell, Gregg Stafford & His Young Tuxedo Brass Band, Feufollet, Charmaine Neville Band, Warren Storm – Willie Tee & Cypress Band with guests T.K. Hulin and Gregg Martinez, Corey Henry & Treme Funktet, Stoop Kids, Astral Project, Tim Laughlin, Kristin Diable & The City, Leyla McCalla, Sean Jones Quartet, EmiSunshine, Marachi Jalisco US, Blodie’s Jazz Jam, Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, Ingrid Lucia, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors, Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Westbank Steppers, Nine Times Ladies, and Valley of Silent Men Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries Mass Choir, Smitty Dee’s Brass Band, Lars Edegran & the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Julio y Cesar Band, Vivaz!, Kenny Bill Stinson & the Ark-LA-Mystics, Connie & Dwight Fitch with the St. Raymond & St. Leo the Great Choir, Gerald French & The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, Voices of Peter Claver, Major Handy & the Louisiana Blues Band, Denisia & Back Row, Jasen Weaver Band, Highsteppers Brass Band, Trouble Nation and Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, E’Dana, Louis Ford & His New Orleans Flairs, Native Nations Intertribal, Yogapalooza with the Bari Koral Family Rock Band, Anya Hollingsworth, Pastor Mitchell J. Stevens, New Hope Baptist Church Mass Choir, Walter Mouton & the Scott Playboys, Stephen Foster’s Foster Family Music Program, Young Fellaz Brass Band, Lady Jetsetters, Undefeated Divas & Gents, and Original Pigeon Town Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Javier’s Dance Company presents Across the Border, Wild Red Flame, Uptown Warriors, and Young Brave Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, and the Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre.
Sunday, May 6:
Jack White, Steve Miller Band, Smokey Robinson, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Radiators @ 40, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Savion Glover, Buddy Guy, Rebirth Brass Band, Galactic, Anders Osborne, Ellis Marsalis, DJ Captain Charles, George Porter, Jr. & the Runnin’ Pardners, Lakou Mizik of Haiti, The Gospel Soul of Irma Thomas, The Iguanas, Walter Wolfman Washington & the Roadmasters, Calexico, Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective, Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters, Rising Dragon Lion Dance Team, New Orleans Suspects, The Zion Harmonizers, Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Glen David Andrews, Flow Tribe, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Hard Head Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Young Pinstripe Brass Band, Mr. Sipp, Mia Borders, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys, Bobby Lounge, Johnny Sansone, Dr. Michael White’s Tribute to Billie and Dee Dee Pierce featuring Cynthia Girtley, Kinfolk Brass Band, George French & the New Orleans Storyville Jazz Band, Prince of Wales and Original New Orleans Lady Buckjumpers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, The New Orleans Spiritualettes, Sasha Masakowski “Art Market”, Jonathon “Boogie” Long, The Heritage All Star Brass Band featuring Dr. Michael White and Gregg Stafford, Tommy Sancton’s New Orleans Legacy Band, The Pfister Sisters, Leroy Jones & New Orleans’ Finest, Wild Tchoupitoulas, Buffalo Hunters, and Wild Squatoulas Mardi Gras Indians, The War and Treaty, Ty Morris & H.O.W., Javier Olondo and AsheSon, Robin Barnes & The FiyaBirds, Bill Kirchen, Quiana Lynell, Chief Howard with the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Rhythm Section, Joe Dyson, T’Monde, Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, Square Dance NOLA with the Bayou Clogger String Band, Audrey Ferguson & The Voices of Distinction, Sierra Green & The Soul Machine, Lyle Henderson & Emmanu-EL, Native Nations Intertribal, Sons of Jazz Brass Band, The Mighty Travelers, Jose Fermin & Merengue4-FOUR, Young Magnolias and Apache Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Joe Lastie’s New Orleans Sounds, Craig Adams & Higher Dimensions of Praise, Culu Children’s Traditional African Dance Company, Da Knockaz Brass Band, Ole & Nu Style Fellas and Original C.T.C. Steppers Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs, Kai Knight’s Sihouette Dance Ensemble, Curtis Pierre with The Samba Kids, and the Muggivan School of Irish Dance.
Also included is a special tricentennial celebration, the gospel tent and much more! To find out the daily schedules, click here. For tickets, click here. Stay tuned for updates on hour-by-hour and stage schedules.
