The French Quarter Festival will look to present the “Largest Showcase of Louisiana Music in the World” when it returns to its home in the French Quarter of New Orleans for its 35th year this spring on April 11th-14th. The annual, free music event, which began running back in 1983, announced its 2019 lineup of over 1,700 local artists on Wednesday afternoon. The list of names includes Galactic, who will make their festival debut, The Meters‘ bassist George Porter Jr. & the Runnin’ Pardners, and Irma Thomas a.k.a. the “Soul Queen of New Orleans”, just to name a few.
Other artists included on the list of names announced on Wednesday include Preservation All-Stars, Rebirth Brass Band, The Dukes Of Dixieland, The Soul Rebels, Buku Broux, DeJan’s Olympia Brass Band, New Orleans Suspects, Jamal Batiste Band, Little Freddie King, Carl LeBlanc, New Orleans Classic Jazz Orchestra, and Wanda Rouzan and a Taste of New Orleans. The complete listing of 2019 performers will be revealed in a few months on March 22nd.
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This year’s four-day event will of course also feature some world-class culinary options from around the New Orleans area to keep attendees energized throughout the marathon weekend of performances. The entire festival will begin with French Quarter Festival Second-Line Kickoff Parade beginning at 10 a.m. on April 11th, which runs from 100 block of Bourbon Street to Jackson Square.
Fans can head over to the event website for more general information on this year’s event, as well as ticket package options.