With perfect weather forecast through the weekend, record crowds may attend the 4-day French Quarter Festival which begins today.
The 34th annual festival will offer music from over 1,700 world-class, local musicians and food from the city's favorite restaurants at the "The World's Largest Jazz Brunch" at Jackson Square.
This year, the Jack Daniel's Stage moves from Bourbon Street to JAX Brewery. The stage will have entertainment all four days of festival. Artists include: Corey Henry's Treme Funktet, Ingrid Lucia, King James & The Special Men, Lynn Drury Band, Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns, Otra, Panorama Jazz Band, Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs, and The Soul Rebels.
More than 60 food vendors will offer classic New Orleans dishes as well as cuisine from the finest chefs in the region.
Festival favorites returning for 2017 include Galatoire's, Muriel's, Praline Connection, Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse, Restaurant R'evolution, Broussard's, Love at First Bite, Royal House, GW Fins, House of Blues, Jacques-Imo's, K-Paul's, Lasyone's Meat Pies, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Three Muses, and more.
What started as a small neighborhood event has grown into the largest showcase of Louisiana music in the world. French Quarter Festival is one of the biggest events in the state and generates an average economic impact of nearly $190 million. In 2017, it was voted "Best Local Festival" by New Orleans Magazine readers and has also been listed as the "one thing to do in Louisiana" by the Huffington Post.