NOLA Funk Fest
New Orleans Jazz Museum 400 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans, Louisiana 70116
NOLA Funk Fest is the designated "coming-out party" for the The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience, a museum in the works that intends to showcase Louisiana's extensive music history on a grand scale. To celebrate the occasion, there will be two stages bumping sets by dozens of New Orleans's funkiest artists, plus delicious food and available beverages.
Two symposia will explore oral histories, accompanied by musical performances, of how R&B, Rock and Roll, and Funk evolved as genres. Saturday's topic of conversation will be Louisiana Blues Harmonica Masters, featuring Grammy-winning bluesman Bobby Rush, New Orleans musicians Johnny Sansone and Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes, Nick Spitzer of American Routes, and music historian and writer Bob Santelli. Sunday will bring together a panel of contemporary women musicians who have helped shape the blues, including Grammy-winning Irma Thomas and the legendary Marcia Ball. Also in conversation will be record executive Scott Billington, journalist Gwen Thompkins, and musicologist Ben Sandmel. Both symposia will be held at the New Orleans Jazz Museum's third floor performance hall from 2 pm–3:30 pm.
Headlining musical acts this year include George Porter Jr. and Runnin' Pardners, Big Freedia, The Soul Rebels, Geo Leo (George Porter Jr. & Leo Nocentelli playing the music of The Meters with Stanton Moore and Ivan Neville), Jon Cleary, and Tank and the Bangas.
2 pm–9 pm each day. $100 for a three-day pass in advance. VIP options at nolafunkfest.com.
