Gerald French is a jazz drummer, leader of the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, and Mardi Gras Indian. In this WWOZ Jazz Fest Flashback, he talks about the long history his family has at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, stemming all the way back to the very first Fest in... Read more

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Find out more about the history of the festival's longest-running collector's item on this WWOZ Jazz Fest at 50 Time Capsule. Read more

Germaine Bazzle in the Jazz Tent with bassist Mark Brooks on April 25, 2010. Photo by Pat Jolly. In honor of Jazz Fest's 50th anniversary in 2019, we're featuring a Jazz Fest photo of the day with our audience. Keep your eyes here, and at our Jazz Fest 50 page, all year ... Read more

Smithsonian Folkways will be releasing the "Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival" box set this year, celebrating the sights and sounds of the festival! The five disc box set includes unreleased material spanning the years 1974 to 2016 and features key moments... Read more

Krewe des Fleurs at the Mardi Gras arts area on May 6, 2017. Photo by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee. In honor of Jazz Fest's 50th anniversary in 2019, we're featuring a Jazz Fest photo of the day with our audience. Keep your eyes here, and at our Jazz Fest 50 page, all year long ... Read more

Tribute to Buckwheat Zydeco featuring Nathan Williams, C.J. Chenier, Corey Ledet, and the Ils Sont Partis Band on Day 6 of Jazz Fest - May 6, 2017. Photo by Black Mold. In honor of Jazz Fest's 50th anniversary in 2019, we're featuring a Jazz Fest photo of the day with ou... Read more

2018 was the first Mardi Gras for the Young Maasai Hunters, led by Big Chief Dump (Keelian Boyd Sr.). The black masking Indians of New Orleans, commonly known as Mardi Gras Indians, comprise a diverse group that is always evolving. Some participants are born into it, while... Read more

Ernie K-Doe holds his signed, temporary permit from the FCC somewhere backstage at Jazz Fest on April 23, 1992. Photo by Ice Cube Slim, courtesy of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Archive.  In honor of Jazz Fest's 50th anniversary in 2019, we're featuring a Jazz Fest pho... Read more