Beijing has nothing on N'awlins.
“The Thumpolympics are on!" says Quint Davis, producer/director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the annual music marathon that was almost crippled by Hurricane Katrina.
MORE: Jazz Fest revels in its roots
The roots music celebration, unfolding Friday-Sunday and May 1-4, seems poised to match its pre-storm heights. Attendance is expected to exceed last year's 375,000 (300,000 came in 2006, down from 400,000 in 2005, before Katrina).
For the first time since 2005, Jazz Fest's seventh day is back at a cost of $1 million to organizers. Favorite sons the Neville Brothers will make their first appearance since the storm as part of a bill boasting major stars and a wide range of regional talent. More food vendors and an expanded children's area have been added.
Jazz Fest's revival owes to its affiliation with AEG Live, which has invested in national talent, and the steady return of the city's own musicians. On a recent Friday, Davis counted 103 clubs touting 200-plus live acts.
“It's like South by Southwest here every weekend," he says. “The talent pool is remarkable. It's all back.
“After Katrina, the question was, 'Would the roots of New Orleans culture survive, and would the music scene revive, or would musicians find better jobs in Utah?' It's very poignant to realize all this is still here."
Yet with convention business lagging, many musicians still struggle for full-time work, he says, and those awaiting affordable housing commute from outlying cities and states.
“It seems like forever, but this is only the third festival since the flood. The first was a cathartic local miracle. Last year, the outside world came back. When you talk about starting from Hiroshima, it's stunning progress. We're living in dog years."
New Orleans offers parallel universes for locals and visitors. Tourists find full-tilt recovery.
“The Thumpolympics are on!" says Quint Davis, producer/director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the annual music marathon that was almost crippled by Hurricane Katrina.
MORE: Jazz Fest revels in its roots
The roots music celebration, unfolding Friday-Sunday and May 1-4, seems poised to match its pre-storm heights. Attendance is expected to exceed last year's 375,000 (300,000 came in 2006, down from 400,000 in 2005, before Katrina).
For the first time since 2005, Jazz Fest's seventh day is back at a cost of $1 million to organizers. Favorite sons the Neville Brothers will make their first appearance since the storm as part of a bill boasting major stars and a wide range of regional talent. More food vendors and an expanded children's area have been added.
Jazz Fest's revival owes to its affiliation with AEG Live, which has invested in national talent, and the steady return of the city's own musicians. On a recent Friday, Davis counted 103 clubs touting 200-plus live acts.
“It's like South by Southwest here every weekend," he says. “The talent pool is remarkable. It's all back.
“After Katrina, the question was, 'Would the roots of New Orleans culture survive, and would the music scene revive, or would musicians find better jobs in Utah?' It's very poignant to realize all this is still here."
Yet with convention business lagging, many musicians still struggle for full-time work, he says, and those awaiting affordable housing commute from outlying cities and states.
“It seems like forever, but this is only the third festival since the flood. The first was a cathartic local miracle. Last year, the outside world came back. When you talk about starting from Hiroshima, it's stunning progress. We're living in dog years."
New Orleans offers parallel universes for locals and visitors. Tourists find full-tilt recovery.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
