French Quarter Festivals, Inc. releases artist lineup for 29th annual Festival
French Quarter Festivals, Inc. releases the 2012 music lineup for the 29th annual French Quarter Festival – April 12- April 15, 2012 and introduces two new stages to the growing festival – the Rick’s 315 Stage on Bourbon Street (traditional Jazz) and a Cabaret Stage at the Hotel Monteleone’s new Carousel Bar. French Quarter Festival was founded in 1984 as a way to bring locals back to the French Quarter after major street and sidewalk construction before the World’s Fair. What was meant to be a one-time event has grown into a free, four-day festival with over 22 stages of music throughout the French Quarter, over 800 local musicians, over 250 hours of free music, and over 500,000 festival goers.
This year French Quarter Festival introduces many new acts to the lineup including the Royal Southern Brotherhood with Cyril Neville, Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders, Deacon John, New Orleans Bingo! Show, George Porter, Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners, Papa Grows Funk, Gina Brown & Anutha Level, the Iguanas, and Bill Summers & Jazalsa, to name a few. French Quarter Festival will also feature 2012 Grammy winners, Rebirth Brass Brand – along with local favorites like Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews and Orleans Avenue; Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington; Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra; Jeremy Davenport; Soul Rebels; Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys; and Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders.
Musician Sponsorship Program
In 2012 French Quarter Festival, Inc. launched the Musician Sponsorship program which eliminated the musicians’ responsibility of securing a sponsor. The new program has taken the burden off musicians and created hundreds of new partnerships for the festival. In March 2012, the Festival met its goal for musician sponsorships and will use the extra funds raised to cover musician parking at festival this year. One hundred percent of the musician sponsorship income will go towards musician expense at French Quarter Festival. Currently, twenty-one (of the twenty-two) stages at French Quarter Festival feature Louisiana artists exclusively. Over 800 local musicians perform at French Quarter Festival each year.
Visit www.fqfi.org for more information on the music lineup, stages, and musician sponsorship. The free App for iPhone or Android is courtesy of Capital One Bank and Applitite.
