New Orleans, Louisiana– After the cancelation of two festival seasons due to Covid-19, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell made a triumphant return, as 475,000 festivalgoers attended the event over seven days and two weekends, Festival organizers announced today.

“Jazz Fest fans make the Festival come to life,” said Quint Davis, Producer/Director of the event. “Thanks to everyone who was in that number. This was Jazz Fest at its very best.”

The Festival once again celebrated the rich culture of Louisiana and the best of American roots and world music on 13 stages at the Fair Grounds Race Course. Equally stunning is the Festival’s remarkable presentation of New Orleans and Louisiana’s amazing cuisine culture, a great food Festival in itself, in addition to three museum quality arts and crafts expos.

With more than 500 New Orleans groups, covering the full range of street culture, Gospel, Blues, Jazz, R&B, and more, Jazz Fest’s showcase of this incredible musical community continues to set the Festival apart. Highlights included: Tributes to artists central to New Orleans culture and to the Festival legacy—Festival founder George Wein; Dr. John, Art and Charles Neville; Ellis Marsalis, Dave Bartholomew, and others. The tradition of hosting the highest level of special guests included the second Jazz Fest appearance by The Who; the Red Hot Chili Peppers closing out the first weekend; Ziggy Marley performing the songs of Bob Marley; Luke Combs headlining locals Thursday; a signature return to performing after three years by Stevie Nicks, joining Lauren Daigle, Erykah Badu, and Mavis Staples, all on the second Saturday. Also a part of the Festival musical family is the wide variety of international music, which this year featured Cimafunk of Cuba, Bombino of Niger, Lakou Mizik of Haiti, Son Rompe Pera of Mexico, and DakhaBrakha of Ukraine.