A line of severe storms with winds up to 60 miles per hour is causing delays and power outages in southeast Louisiana. Due to safety concerns, the opening of Saturday’s Jazz Fest in New Orleans has been delayed by at least an hour. A flood advisory has been issued for Orleans and Jefferson parishes and nearly 2,000 buildings in Jefferson Parish and almost 700 in Orleans are experiencing power outages, according to Entergy. Fortunately, neutral ground parking has been allowed by the city. Although the Causeway was temporarily closed, it has since reopened.
The storms are expected to let up, but meteorologist Michelle Morgan warns that more rain could occur later in the day. Downed trees have already been reported in St. Charles Parish. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest) started on April 28 and is set to run until May 7 at the Fair Grounds Race Course. Ticket options for the festival include 4-day and 3-day weekend passes, single-day tickets broken down by weekend and VIP experiences, starting from $80 to $1,850. The festival offers a shuttle service, Jazz Fest Express, to the venue from three locations around the city daily from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Lyft, Uber, and local taxi firms are also available for ridesharing. A printable checklist covers what to bring and what not to bring to the festival.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival kicked off its first weekend with performances by artists spanning multiple genres, including R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, Zydeco, pop, blues, country, rap, and gospel. The festival featured 14 stages or tents where music fans set up chairs or blankets and enjoyed performances by their favorite artists, including Lizzo, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Big Freedia, Tank and The Bangas, Wu-Tang Clan + The Soul Rebels, Mavis Staples, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Charlie Musselwhite, and Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience. In addition to music, the festival also offered a variety of Louisiana cuisine, such as seafood dishes, po’boy sandwiches, and pan-fried noodles from the Ajun Cajun.
This year’s festival is going cashless for the first time in its 52-year run. All major credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, as well as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay are being accepted for tickets, food, merchandise, and more. Hotel occupancy for the city’s downtown corridor was above the 2022 Jazz Fest numbers but not quite as good as those for 2019.
Despite the delay caused by the severe storms, Jazz Fest attendees can still expect to enjoy all of the amazing music and food that the festival has to offer. The festival is urging attendees to stay safe amidst the inclement weather and to keep an eye on updates from Jazz Fest organizers regarding any further schedule changes or updates.
