The live music, speaker series and culinary lineup for Satchmo SummerFest has been announced by French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (FQFI), producer of the event presented by Chevron that will take place August 6-7 at the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
This premier festival, dedicated to the life, legacy, and music of New Orleans’ native son, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, brings two days of live entertainment that is certain to keep fans on their feet and dancing to the beat. Fest attendees can once again pre-purchase tickets online beginning Wednesday, June 22.
Tickets can be purchased in advance for $7 or onsite for $10 per day (children 12 and under are free). Admission also provides access to the Jazz Museum’s collection and exhibitions, plus programming at the Satchmo Legacy Stage on the third floor of the museum, presented in memory of Joni Berry. The stage features discussions and presentations by world-renowned Armstrong scholars.
The 2022 festival lineup features 20 musical acts ranging from traditional jazz to swing, brass and marching bands, funk, R&B, jazz fusion, and more performing on two tented stages. The lineup includes: Big 6 Brass Band, Doreen’s Jazz, Ella & Louie Tribute Band with special guest Jewel Brown, Germaine Bazzle, John Boutté, Lawrence Cotton Legendary Experience, Nigel Hall, Roots of Music, and The Nayo Jones Experience, among many others. Returning Satchmo SummerFest favorites include Kermit Ruffins’ Tribute to Louis Armstrong, Preservation Brass, Jeremy Davenport, The Original Pinettes Brass Band and Treme Brass Band.
The Satchmo Legacy Stage will feature fascinating speakers and discussions on a wide range of topics surrounding all things Louis Armstrong from 1-5 p.m. each day. Festival favorite and Grammy Award winner Ricky Riccardi, director of research collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives and the author of What a Wonderful World, will return with a host of all-star scholars. Enthusiasts and novices can dive deep into the life and legacy of Armstrong and learn of his humble beginnings and tenacity with presentations such as “Peter Davis, the Music Master of the Great Louis Armstrong,” with Dr. Robert S. Mikel, a native New Orleanian and decorated educator with research works and interest in multiple fields of study including early New Orleans jazz, as well as a very special interview with Jewel Brown, who was a female vocalist with Armstrong’s All-Stars from 1961-1968. While inside the museum, attendees can also access five exhibits: Lightning and Thunder: Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles, Exit Stage Right: Zack Smith’s Festival Portraits, From the Fat Man to Mahalia: James Michalopoulos’ Music Paintings, The Wildest! Louis Prima Comes Home, and Drumsville: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat.
Satchmo SummerFest presented by Chevron will also feature unforgettable New Orleans cuisine from some of the city’s most beloved restaurants and up-and-coming chefs. Attendees can indulge a little more with gluten-free and vegetarian options from Beaucoup Eats with the vegan fish po-boy, jerk chicken pasta and red beans and rice (Satchmo’s favorite dish) with a side of catfish and 14 Parishes, who returns with jerk chicken or pork, plantains and festival (Jamaican fried dough). Ditto’s Did Dat also joins the festival with fried crawfish, grilled chicken, and shrimp tacos. Enjoy delicious eats from Café Dauphine like Cajun seafood rolls, fried green tomatoes with shrimp remoulade and fried ribs. Theaudric’s Real Clever Cuisine offers a fusion of flavors with shrimp Cavatappi Fatooush, brussel Voorheese with fig truffle glaze and creme Bru’leches bread pudding. Praline Connection will offer such scrumptious bites as chicken livers, fried okra and more. Festers looking to cool down can look forward to Plum Street Snoballs with their traditional flavors and add-on options to personalize the sweet treat, or take a healthier approach with their sugar-free flavors.
Music fans of all ages can attend a special performance by some of the city’s youngest and most talented musicians at the Satchmo Soundoff. The Roots of Music presented by Fidelity Bank will kick off this year’s festival Saturday at 11:30am on Esplanade Avenue outside of the museum gates.
A Jazz Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, August 7, at St. Augustine Church in the Parish Hall, located at 1210 Governor Nicholls Street, followed by a second line parade through the Treme neighborhood and the French Quarter, concluding at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. The mass will be livestreamed at facebook.com/saintaugchurch.
For more information about Satchmo SummerFest, visit here.
