The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience is proud to present the inaugural Nola Funk Fest, a three-day festival celebrating the rich musical history of Louisiana. The festival will take place from October 20 to October 22 at the New Orleans Jazz Museum located at 400 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA.
Nola Funk Fest will feature 34 of the city's best local funk acts across two stages, including headliners such as Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Leo Nocentelli with Experiencing The Meters, Grammy icons Irma Thomas, George Porter Jr., and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The festival is set to be a coming-out party for The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience, an under-development museum of grand scale dedicated to preserving Louisiana's rich musical history.
The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience is going to be a 120,000 square foot, $160 million museum that tells the story of music in Louisiana — from Congo Square all the way up to today. NOLA Funk Fest will provide a glimpse into the museum and what its eventual programming will be like.
The festival will give attendees a taste of what the museum will offer, including an exhibit "I Found My Thrill: The music and artistry of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew." This thrilling exhibit will open on October 21 and run for 20 weeks after. It explores the complex relationship between Domino and Bartholomew, dives into their creative process, charts their hit songs, and explores what their space in American music history is. All media members are invited to attend an exhibit preview on October 20 at 10 a.m.
There will also be two symposiums, one on Earl King and another on Dave Bartholomew, where oral histories flavored by musical performances will highlight the evolution of Blues and Jazz into R&B, Rock and Roll, and Funk. Tickets are $30 per day or $50 to see both symposiums. To top off the programming, pure NOLA funk acts will be performing for three days across two stages.
The New Orleans Jazz Museum has stated their excitement for hosting this special event. They take pride in supporting the New Orleans community and helping new and long-standing projects come to fruition. Their relationships with organizations such as French Quarter Festivals Inc, the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park, the Jazz Foundation of America, and more highlights their mission as a clearinghouse for music in the region.
The 2023 Nola Funk Fest costume contest is presented by Disco Warehouse and will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday October 21 on the JAMNOLA stage. There will be a total of $1,000 given away to the top 3 costumers of the festival that night. So, come dressed to impress for your chance to win some cash!
The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience's goal for the festival is to draw attention and help make their dream of giving Louisiana the museum it deserves a reality. Their goal for the museum is to preserve the evolving Louisiana music history to educate, inspire, and empower.
Early bird tickets for single day, three-day passes, VIP experiences, and symposiums are available now on the Nola Funk Fest website. Don't miss out on this incredible celebration of Louisiana's musical heritage and the chance to support the development of The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience museum.
