French Quarter Festival

[1] In April 2008, jazz pianist Ronnie Kole recalled the origins of the idea of creating a new event in New Orleans.

In the early 1980s, the Mayor's office recruited ten people, nine business owners and one musician, to put together a new festival for the city.

[2] With an estimated attendance of over 800,000 in 2019, the festival bills itself as "the world's largest showcase of Louisiana music."

[3] During French Quarter Festival, more than 20 stages throughout the French Quarter perform local music and represent genres from traditional and contemporary jazz to R&B, New Orleans funk, brass bands, folk, gospel, Latin, Zydeco, classical, cabaret, and international.

[4] As of 2021, French Quarter Festival, Satchmo Summerfest, and Holidays New Orleans Style are formally overseen by the nonprofit French Quarter Festivals, Inc., which as of 2017 is led by CEO Emily Madero.