Nice to have an early Christmas present with the lineup release of the 2010 edition of JazzFest. What a sweet group of musicians.
The 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will be special because I am moving down the to “Big Easy” in March, which eliminates one hassle of finding a cheap hotel room as in previous stays.
The highlights are listed below and here are the complete lists (so far) for the 1st weekend and 2nd weekend.
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Lionel Richie
- Allman Brothers Band
- My Morning Jacket
- Anita Baker
- Dr. John
- Darius Rucker
- The Black Crowes
- Steel Pulse
- Johnny Lang
- Band of Horses
- The Levon Helm Band
- Drake
- Keely Smith
- Baaba Maal
- George Clinton and P-Funk
- Imagination Movers
- Ledisi
- King Sunny Ade & His African Beats
- Better Than Ezra
- Blind Boys of Alabama
- Elvin Bishop
- funky Meters
- Sax for Stax featuring Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum, and Jeff Lorber
- Marcia Ball
- Shawn Colvin
- rest of the 1st weekend
- Pearl Jam
- Aretha Franklin
- Van Morrison
- Widespread Panic
- The Neville Brothers
- B.B. King
- Jeff Beck
- Irma Thomas
- Gipsy Kings
- The Dead Weather
- Elvis Costello & the Sugarcanes
- Teena Marie
- Allen Toussaint
- Gov’t Mule
- Average White Band
- Jose Feliciano
- Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers
- Maze feat. Frankie Beverly
- Kirk Franklin
- Wayne Shorter Quartet
- Gil Scott Heron
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd
- Clarence Carter
- Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band
- rest of the 2nd weekend
Tickets
Daily tickets are going fo $45 a day for either the 1st weekend or 2nd weekend.
Weekend passes are $120 for the 1st weekend and $160 for the 4 day 2nd weekend.
VIP Packages
The top VIP package called Big Chief Experience is $850 for the 1st weekend and $900 for the 2nd weekend. I did the Big Chief in 2005 and 2007 and my review of the 2007 version here.
My reviews for the 2nd weekend of 2007 – Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.
The Grand Marshall VIP Pass will give you a front row, standing room area that is barricaded off for the Acura Stage, Gentilly Stage and Congo Square Stage. I did this in 2008 and made for some nice photo taking. The price is $550 for the 1st weekend and $600 for the 2nd weekend.
My reviews for the 1st weekend of 2008 – Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 and the 2nd weekend – Day 1, Day 2 and Day 4.
Another VIP package that made its first appearance for 2009 is the Krewe of Jazz Fest and this gets you a covered area at the Acura Stage with dedicated restrooms and bar. The 1st weekend is $350 and the 2nd weekend is $400.
There is a layaway option available for all the VIP packages, the basics are you pay 50% upfront and 100% of your fees and pay the remainder on March 1, 2010. For more on this, go to the top right hand side of the Ticketmaster order page and click on the tab marked “Event Info”.
Other Ticket Options
The local public radio station, WWOZ, has the Brass Pass for $400 that is used to raise funds for their operations and I have used on occasion. It is for both weekends, is transferable to another person and has a sweet hospitality tent where you can chill in between sets. Great deal…
JazzFest at nite
If the day sessions are not enough for you, there are several venues around town at night to fill that need. The best way to keep up with this is to head on over to JazzFestGrids.
Hotels
You can take a gander at the rates that the JazzFest folks have negotiated and if you are quick enough you might wind up with a decent deal.
If you use Hotwire or Priceline and wondering about the best deals and which hotels are covered, head on over to Swagland and he can give you the skinny on both. It will save you tons of time and frustration.
Cuisine
The food at Fest is the best and I could give you recommendations, but they are too numerous to list. I always do a run through and check out all the booths at the beginning of the weekend to scope out the new ones as well as my favorites.
Grabbing a reservation at night at some of the more popular restaurants can be a hassle as well as the place being crowded. So beware…..
Any Other Questions
I have been going to JazzFest since the 80’s, so if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me.
My best advice from years of going to New Orleans: It is a marathon, not a sprint. There are way too many things to do and never enough time. Pace yourself accordingly….. it is all good..
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The Churchill Downs folks are looking at their racetrack down in New Orleans that hosts the highly successful JazzFest and copying the concept for a move northward. Having done pretty well for 40 years in the “Big Easy” it seems like an idea that could make sense, even in this economy.
The diverse initial lineup has several festival veterans that should bring the crowds, with more artists added at a later date.
July 23rd – Friday
- Bon Jovi
- Doobie Brothers
- Gladys Knight
- B-52s
- The O’Jays
- Colbie Caillat
- Richard Marx
- Gloriana
- Sam Bush
- Chrisette Michele
July 24th – Saturday
- Kenny Chesney
- Jason Aldean
- Al Green
- Michael McDonald
- John Kay & Steppenwolf
- Gov’t Mule
- Joan Osborne
- Musiq Soulchild
- War
July 25th – Sunday
- Dave Matthews Band
- Zac Brown Band
- Steve Miller Band
- Dwight Yoakam
- Loretta Lynn
- The Black Crowes
- Kansas
- 38 Special
- Taj Mahal
3 Day General Admission: Lawn seating for the Longfield Ave, 4th Street, Backstretch, and Paddock stages, reserved area to view the Main Stage, but specific seats will be available on a first come, first served basis.
- Advance Price (through March 9, 2010) $160
- Regular Price (Beginning March 10, 2010) $200
Single Day General Admission:
- Advance Price (through March 9, 2010) $60, Day 1, Day 2 or Day 3
- Regular Price (Beginning March 10, 2010) $75
Single Day Reserved Seats: Lawn seating for the Longfield Ave, 4th Street, Backstretch, and Paddock stages is available on a first come, first served basis. Seats for the Main Stage will held based on the time of your order and the price of your ticket. Seats will be sold on a first come, first served basis with the seats nearest to the stage selling first.
VIP Tickets: exclusive access to hospitality areas adjacent to the Main, Longfield Ave and 4th Street stages, as well as access to a VIP lounge located in the infield. Discounted food and beverage offerings, upgraded restrooms, as well as a place to relax in the shade will be available to VIP guests in these locations. Include all amenities that come with the reserved seat ticket; however the reserved seat at the main stage will be located in the first 30 rows of the seating chart.
- 3 Day VIP ticket: $975
- Single day VIP ticket: $295 Day 1, Day 2 or Day 3
No camping on site, so it is either opt for campgrounds nearby or hotels or you could be lucky enough to crash at some relatives house.
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The Couch Tour is fighting rain in New York this weekend at the All Points West Music Festival but they are still trying to get the video out there for us to enjoy. The All Points Folks are even being decent in letting people that got shut out of Friday’s show come back for free Saturday or Sunday.
If you don’t have an iClips account, go here . What are you waiting for????
All times are Eastern and any updates to the schedule will be here.
Saturday, August 1
- 1:50 – Trail of Dead
- 3:05 – Electric Touch
- 3:55 – Heartless Bastards
- 4:40 – Seasick Steve
- 5:30 – Fleet Foxes
- 6:20 – The National
- 7:10 – Neko Case
- 8:00 – Black Gold
Sunday, August 2
- 1:10 – White Rabbits
- 1:50 – Cage the Elephant
- 2:40 – Cool Kids
- 3:30 – Postelles
- 4:10 – Chairlift
- 4:55 - Steel Train
- 5:45 – Tokyo Police Club
- 6:35 – TBA
- 7:25 – Gaslight Anthem
- 8:15 – Elbow
- 9:05 – Gogol Bordello
- 9:55 – TBA
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The Couch Tour from iClips continues this weekend at the All Good Music Festival in Masontown, West Virginia. With the weather hitting 100+ degrees here in the Metroplex, this is a much more desirable option than venturing outside.
If you don’t have an iClips account, go here and sign up and relax for the weekend.
All times are Eastern and any updates to the schedule will be here.
Friday, July 10
- 7:15pm – Todd Snyder
- 7:45pm – Les Claypool
- 9:15pm – TBA
- 10:00pm – Bob Weir & Ratdog
- 12:00am – Jackie Greene
- 12:45am – moe.
Saturday, July 11
- 6:30pm – Yonder Mountain String Band
- 8:00pm – Lake Trout
- 8:30pm – STS9
- 10:00pm – Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
- 10:45pm – Ben Harper & RELENTLESS7
- 12:15am – TBA
- 1:00am – Umphrey’s McGee
Sunday, July 12
- 2:40pm – Tea Leaf Green
- 3:55pm – BK3 feat. Bill Kreutzmann
- 4:55pm – Dark Star Orchestra
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The iClips folks will start in Rothbury, MI this weekend with their FREE live Couch Tour of Music Festivals, which also includes Mile High in Denver in a couple of weeks, All Points West at the end of the month, Lollapalooza the following weekend and ending at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Oct 2nd – 4th. Very Nice……
I plan on spending a bit of time on my rear end this long July 4th weekend, so this fits right in with my plan to watch a couple of Cubs games, eat well and drink a bit of Wild Turkey. A couple of hours of SCI goes right along with that…. as well as Brett Dennen , Grace Potter, Toots and Umphrey’s McGee. Hmmm, might need more Wild Turkey.
So if you don’t have an iClips account, go here and sign up. Doesn’t cost anything and you get to see great music for the rest of the summer and into the fall.
All times are Eastern , and of course are subject to change. All updated info is here.
Friday, July 3
- 1:45pm · King Sunny Ade
- 2:45pm · Brett Dennen
- 3:30pm · G. Love and Special Sauce
- 4:15pm · Keller Williams
- 6:30pm · Damian Marley and NAS
- 8:00pm · Toubab Krewe
- 8:45pm · The String Cheese Incident
- 12:30am · The Disco Biscuits
Saturday, July 4
- 1:30pm · Ralph Stanley
- 2:15pm · Martin Sexton
- 3:30pm · Jackie Greene
- 4:45pm · Son Volt
- 5:30pm · The Black Crowes
- 7:00pm · Railroad Earth
- 8:30pm · John Butler
- 10:00pm · Lotus
- 11:30pm · STS9
Sunday, July 5
- 1:45pm · Toots and the Maytals
- 3:00pm · Four Finger Five
- 3:45pm · Yonder Mountain String Band
- 5:15pm · The Hard Lessons
- 6:00pm · Willie Nelson
- 7:30pm · Grace Potter
- 8:45pm · Flogging Molly
- 10:00pm · Ani DiFranco
- 11:45pm · Matisyahu
- 1:00am · Umphrey’s McGee
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