The LOCALS’  Music Festival, billed as a celebration of Louisiana grassroots culture, will get underway in Armstrong Park on Saturday, September 10, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. featuring a lineup of many New Orleans-based acts.

LOCALS’  Fest, an acronym for “Loving Our Community As Louisiana,” will include performances by Shaggadelic and Raw Revolution, Vegas Cola, LeTrainiump, Wynton, Russell Batiste and Friends, Mykia Jovan, Sporty’s Brass Band and SaxKixAve. Comedian Mark Caesar will serve as the emcee. Food booths along with art and craft vendors will also be on site.

Ryan Batiste, C.E.O. of Raw Revolution Productions LLC, founded the festival in 2019. “When I created this festival, I wanted to help small businesses as well as musicians and up and coming artists in our community to grow and expand their reach, fans and customer network while having fun and bringing the community together,” he said. The 2020 iteration of the festival was held as a virtual event due to the pandemic.

Batiste comes from a family of at least 25 musicians starting with his father, David Batiste, widely know musician and performer in the popular Batiste Brothers Band. Other family members include Grammy and Oscar-winning musician Jonathan Batiste, who is former director of comedian Stephen Colbert’s late show band. With Ryan’s upbringing in the birthplace of jazz and his family history along, with the B.A. in music he holds from Dillard University, the culture and music of New Orleans is in his blood.

Ryan launched Raw Revolution Productions LLC in 2010 in an effort to positively impact his community and the world through the gift of music. Sponsors of LOCALS Fest include the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy and the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund.

The festival is free of charge and free parking will be available in the lots behind the Mahalia Jackson Theater. For more information, visit here.