The 2021 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has been canceled due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Louisiana. The popular annual event was one of many festivals expected to return this fall, but will now take place in spring 2022.
The 2021 edition was set to be staged over two weekends from October 8th through 17th, and feature such acts as The Rolling Stones (who were added recently), Foo Fighters, Stevie Nicks, Dead & Company, Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Elvis Costello, and dozens more artists. The fest will now take place in 2022 over the two weekends from April 29th through May 8th.
A full statement from festival organizers reads as follows:
“As a result of the current exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency, we must sadly announce that the 2021 edition of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, scheduled to take place October 8 –17, 2021, will not occur as planned. We now look forward to next spring, when we will present the Festival during its traditional timeframe. Next year’s dates are April 29 – May 8, 2022.
Ticketholders for both Festival weekends (including those that rolled over their tickets from 2020) will receive an email this week with details about the ticket refund and rollover process. All Wednesday, October 13 tickets will be automatically refunded.
In the meantime, we urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials, so that we can all soon experience together the joy that is Jazz Fest.”
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According to the Associated Press, Louisiana has averaged the highest amount new COVID cases per capita of any state in the country over the past week. CDC data has shown the state has been recently averaging 653 COVID-19 infections for every 100,000 residents.
As it is, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival usually takes place in the spring. The fest was canceled last year and postponed to the fall this year as a result of the pandemic. The newly announced dates fall more in line with the event’s typical weekends.
It is unclear whether the 2022 edition will feature the same or similar lineup to the planned 2021 event. See the announcement from Jazz Fest organizers in the tweet below.
Advertisement— New Orleans JazzFest (@jazzfest) August 8, 2021
