A local's guide to Jazz Fest 2025
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Pearl Jam performs at Jazz Fest in 2016. Photo: Josh Brasted/WireImage
Jazz Fest is back in New Orleans on Thursday for two weeks chock-full of live music and local food, arts and crafts.
Why it matters: The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is one of the city's most vibrant cultural touchstones — and a consistent economic engine.
The lineup: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Luke Combs, Lil Wayne & The Roots, Lenny Kravitz and Kacey Musgraves will headline the fest.
- Also at the top of the bill are Santana, John Fogerty, Burna Boy, HAIM, Cage The Elephant, Laufey, Bryson Tiller, Harry Connick Jr., Patti LaBelle, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.
- The full lineup includes hundreds more. See the cubes.
Tickets: Single-day and weekend passes are available online.
- You can score discounts for tickets bought with a Louisiana billing ZIP code. Locals' Thursday tickets are as low as $50, plus fees.
State of play: The biggest stages on the first Saturday's lineup represent "Jazz Fest's message to the world," producer Quint Davis said previously.
- Programming at the Festival Stage includes Rebirth Brass Band, Big Freedia, Tank and the Bangas and Lil Wayne with The Roots. Meanwhile, the Shell Gentilly Stage will host Kermit Ruffins, Pres Hall, Irma Thomas and Harry Connick Jr.
- "Hello world," Davis said. "New Orleans is calling to you!"
What's new: The Cultural Exchange Pavilion will celebrate Mexico through art and music.
- New food vendors include Cafe Dauphine, Sweet SoulFood and Lady Nellie Oyster Farm. The Times-Picayune's Chelsea Shannon has a full list.
Pro tips from a local:
- Don't wear flip-flops. Just don't do it.
- In fact, don't wear anything you're not OK with getting sweaty and dusty.
- Refill your water bottles! It's free. Find where on the fest map.
- Expensive phone cases can keep your phone clean and dry while still being usable. But so can Ziploc bags.
- Need a real bathroom? Get to the Grand Stand. It's especially useful for young kids and when you want to wash your hands properly.
- Parking is at a premium, so walk, bike, take public transit or use the shuttle if you can.
- Remember: The festival went cashless in 2023, so bring your plastic.
My favorite things to eat:
- I start every day with a trio of Cafe du Monde beignets and an iced coffee. You have to carb up.
- A cochon de lait poboy. Pass the hot sauce.
- A combo plate with an oyster patty, crawfish sack and crawfish beignets.
- When it's too hot to handle, there's nothing like cooling off with a mango freeze.
The bottom line: As long as the weather holds out — and, sometimes, even if it doesn't — Jazz Fest should be a heck of a good time.