Echoing the sentiments of many who attended the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, the San Francisco Chronicle said this year’s event affirmed its position as “the best damn time on the face of the earth.” The 2012 Jazz Fest was attended by an estimated 450,000 people over the course of the seven days of the event, marking the highest attendance since 2003.
Highlights of the event included: an all-star celebration of the 50th anniversary of Preservation Hall, featuring Bonnie Raitt, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Rebirth Brass Band, Jazz Fest founder George Wein, and many others; the triumphant return of Bruce Springsteen, his first appearance since his legendary 2006 post-Hurricane Katrina performance; a blazing last-day set by Foo Fighters; the Eagles first-ever Jazz Fest performance; and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews’ numerous appearances throughout the event, including his own scheduled show, as well as with Galactic, Dave Koz, Preservation Hall, and others. Trombone Shorty was also the featured subject of this year’s Official Jazz Fest poster, which sold out of the numbered and C-Marque editions, leaving only a very limited number of the signed and Remarque editions available at www.art4now.com.
Relive some of the best of Jazz Fest 2012 by viewing archived performances from the live webcast, powered by Dell and Intel, at www.youtube.com/jazzfest. See Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Jimmy Buffett Acoustic, Bon Iver, Zac Brown Band, Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, and Janelle Monae, and much more.
Next year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell is scheduled for April 26 – May 5, 2013. For the most up-to-date Jazz Fest info, visit www.nojazzfest.com.
We were at the event for its second weekend and will continue to bring you our coverage over the next week! Still more to come…
