Temperatures are (way) up in New Orleans and that means that Satchmo SummerFest is only a few weeks away! The festival dedicated to the life, legacy, and music of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong returns to the New Orleans Jazz Museum on Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6, 2023. There will be live music, a speaker series, food, dancing, and fun for all from 11:30am-8pm both days. This year marks a return to FREE admission for all at Satchmo SummerFest thanks to their new partnership with New Orleans & Co. 

The 2023 festival lineup includes 30 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 Tuba Skinny, Kermit Ruffins tribute to Louis Armstrong, TBC Brass Band featuring Hasizzle, John Boutte, Leroy Jones & New Orleans' Finest, Charmaine Neville, Troy Sawyer & the Elementz featuring Girls Play Trumpet Too, Kid Merv & All That Jazz, and more!

On the Satchmo Legacy Stage in Memory of Joni Berry, scholars and historians will present on a wide range of topics surrounding all things Louis Armstrong from 12-5pm each day. 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, returns with a host of all-star scholars. Join in on Born on the 4th of July: What Independence Day Meant to Louis Armstrong, a robust discussion with Sam Irwin that covers the controversial topic of Armstrong’s actual birthday, and what the ideals of the United States Declaration of Independence mean to the grandson of a slave. 'Satchelmouth' enthusiasts will also get a front-row seat to conversations with Riccardi and Maxine Gordon in Velma Middleton: The Final Tour. The duo follows the Louis Armstrong All Stars tour to Africa in the ‘60s and Middleton’s final farewell before suffering a stroke in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Whether you are brushing up on your Louis history or diving into his great adventures for the first time, the one-of-a-kind series is sure to excite. View the full music & speaker lineup here.

While inside the Museum, attendees can also access the following exhibits: Exit Stage Right: Zack Smith’s Festival Portraits, Drumsville: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat, The Wildest! Louis Prima Comes Home, and “New Orleans Stomp”: The Centennial of King Oliver’s Groundbreaking 1923 Recordings.

In addition to music, the 2023 Satchmo SummerFest will feature delicious cuisine from Beaucoup Eats, Southerns, 14 Parishes, Ditto's Did Dat, Cafe Dauphine, Theaudric's Real Clever Cuisine, Plum Street Snoballs, and more. Complete menus are available at this link.

The Jazz Mass at St. Augustine Church will begin at 10am on Sunday followed by a Second-Line parade to Satchmo SummerFest from the Treme neighborhood and through the French Quarter. Please note that space and seating is limited. The mass will also be livestreamed on Facebook.com/saintaugchurch.

Looking for information that's not included here? The official festival website with all the latest is satchmosummerfest.org!