French Quarter Fest opened Thursday in New Orleans with four days of free live music across more than 20 stages in the French Quarter, starting with a parade at 10 a.m. and a schedule that runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.
Crowds carrying folding chairs and suitcases moved through downtown Thursday morning, a sign of the weekend traffic the city expects to keep building around the festival. Organizers said this year's event includes more than 300 musicians and more than 70 food and beverage vendors, while New Orleans and Company said hotel occupancy was above 90% at the start of the festival.
For Daniel Barth, the appeal was simple. “Lots of good music,” he said, adding that “it’s really the local bands and musicians who are being featured here.” Barth and his group started the evening with fried catfish and shrimp and planned to work their way through a full festival meal that included “a po’ boy, red beans and rice.”
The festival is free to attend and built around local performers, students and vendors, which is part of why it has become such a strong draw for people already in the region. Diane Anderson said the format makes it easier for the city to benefit from the crowds, noting that it would be hard for many visitors to fly in, book a hotel and pay entrance fees for tickets. Alice Glenn said the money stays close to home: “They’re in the hotels, that’s revenue direct to the city,” she said, adding that the spending also flows to venues, restaurants, transportation and the services residents rely on for their livelihoods.
At the New Orleans Jazz Museum at Esplanade Avenue and the river, Loyola University is sponsoring the Loyola Esplanade and Shade stage for the third year. Jonathan McHugh said the setup gives students a public platform and work experience behind the scenes, with student performances scheduled Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The stage is part of a wider festival push to keep younger musicians tied to the city's musical traditions.
That tradition will be on display Friday when Michael Mullins is set to perform with the New Orleans Legacy Coalition, a group made up of second-generation New Orleans musicians whose parents built careers in the city's music scene. Mullins said the group plays New Orleans funk and soul, and said his father is a member of Bonerama. He said the music is personal: “My dad’s the reason I play music,” Mullins said. “This is my favorite, personally. This is the first music festival I have my earliest music memories. My earliest live music memories. This is where I saw my dad play for the first time and knew there’s something magical about it.”
With the city already showing hotel demand above 90% and the festival set to run through Sunday, French Quarter Fest is doing what it has long been built to do: fill the Quarter with local music, local food and the kind of crowd that keeps New Orleans moving.