PHOTO: Elton John via Wiki Images
With Mardi Gras a recent memory, New Orleans is shifting gears to the spring festival season.
Running from March through July, Festival brings millions of visitors into the city for the best music and food to be had outdoors. With warm weather, people trade their coats and scarves for shorts and straw hats. New Orleans is proudly home to more than 120 festivals throughout the year, showcasing cultural highlights such as Creole Tomatoes, Zydeco, Jazz and Heritage, and more.
The season kicks off with the Buku Music Festival, a newer addition to the events calendar. Now in its fourth year, the fest's lineup ranges from alternative to rock, hip-hop to indie. Headliners of the March 13-14 festival include Bassnectar, A$AP Rocky, Passion Pit and Die Antwoord.
In April, French Quarter Fest, the largest free music festival in the South, brings together more than 700,000 locals and tourists over four days to see local greats like Allen Toussaint, Ellis Marsalis and The Dixie Cups, along with national performers like three-time Tony award-winning Dee Dee Bridgewater performing with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. This year's fest, to run April 9-12, will bring more than 1,500 performers and 60 restaurant vendors together with 23 stages placed throughout the historic French Quarter.
The last weekend in April and the first weekend in May are annual highlights on the calendar, as those weekends encompass the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The "Jazz Fest" is two weekends full of national and local bands from almost every genre of music including traditional New Orleans jazz, blues, R&B, hip hop, Gospel, Pop, Country and Rock.
This year's headliners include Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, The Who, Jimmy Buffet, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga, No Doubt and Keith Urban.
Smaller music and cultural festivals fill in the gaps between these mega-fests. Festivals celebrating wine and food, famous authors and music genres run almost every weekend. For a full list of events, please visit http://www.neworleanscvb.com/calendar-events/festivals/springfestivals/
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