The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, fondly known as “Jazz Fest” and one of the traditional highlights of the US festival season, has been postponed again. Instead of its planned (and already rearranged) appearance in October, it is now planned for next spring.
Organizers say that the latest move is due to the “current exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency.” Jazz Fest, a springtime fixture for half a century before the pandemic, had been postponed altogether in 2020, planned for spring this year and then, in June, moved to an October schedule.
Stones, Beach Boys, Foo Fighters affected
The latest change removes one of the dates on the recently-announced resumption of the Rolling Stones’ No Filter tour. The band had been due to play the event on October 13, in between dates in Nashville and Los Angeles. Other headliners at the celebration were due to include Lizzo, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Buffett, the Beach Boys, and Stevie Nicks.
The time-honored celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana is held at across multiple stages at Fair Grounds Race Course, and embraces almost every type of musical genre, from blues to rap, Zydeco to jazz, and gospel to bluegrass.
A statement about the new postponement notes: “Ticketholders for both festival weekends (including those that rolled over their tickets from 2020) will receive an email this week with details about the ticket refund and rollover process. All Wednesday, October 13 tickets will be automatically refunded.
“We now look forward to next spring, when we will present the Festival during its traditional timeframe. Next year’s dates ate April 29 – May 8, 2022. In the meantime, we urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials, so that we can all soon experience together the joy that is Jazz Fest.”
Late last week, the Louisiana Department of Health reported 6,000 new cases of Covid-19 infections, and increases “across all age groups and regions of the state.”
