The 17th Annual Highland Jazz & Blues Festival

Highland Jazz And Blues Festival 2021 Returns This Fall

“We are excited to be able to gather again for your favorite party in the park,” said Emerie Gentry, president of the Highland Area Partnership.

SHREVEPORT, LA. (PRWEB) JULY 28, 2021 – The 17th Annual Highland Jazz & Blues Festival Presented by Lagniappe P.R.I.M.E., LLC. will be held Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021 in Shreveport’s historic Highland neighborhood at Columbia Park. With music and fun for everyone, the festival will include eight bands playing from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on two stages. This free music festival is a gift to the community from the Highland Area Partnership.

“We are excited to be able to gather again for your favorite party in the park,” said Emerie Gentry, president of the Highland Area Partnership. “This year’s music lineup features award-winning musicians from our community and beyond.”

Local favorite, Grammy nominated vocalist/guitarist Buddy Flett will kick-off the festival on the Oschner LSU Health Shreveport Pavilion Stage. Legendary blues singer, 5 times humanitarian and music legend Betty Lewis will follow. More performances throughout the day on two stages will include Tree Fiddy Trio, The Rougarou Trio, Junior the Third, and Ohm Haus. Festival-goers will have two opportunities to parade through the park with the Shreveport Second Line Brass Band. Rounding out the day is the headlining act, the Grammy-award winning New Orleans Nightcrawlers, a bristling brass band with a modern soul.

Oschner LSU Health Shreveport Pavilion Stage

11:15 a.m. – Buddy Flett
12:45 p.m. – Betty Lewis
2:00 p.m. – Tree Fiddy Trio
2:45 p.m. – Shreveport Second Line Brass Band
3:00 p.m. – Junior the Third
4:30 p.m. – New Orleans Nightcrawlers
BOM Gazebo Stage
11:15 a.m. – The Rougarou Trio
12:45 p.m. – Ohm Haus
2:00 p.m. – Clash of the Artists Competition
4:00 p.m. – Shreveport Second Line Brass Band

For the first time at the festival, there will be a live art competition called “Clash of the Artists”. Four local artists will compete by painting on the spot in accordance with a theme related to the festival at the BOM Gazebo Stage. These artists will have two hours to paint their showcase interpretation piece of how music brings the community together. Festival-goers will have a chance to vote on their favorite artwork that day. The winning artwork will be announced prior to the headlining act and will be used for the 2022 official festival poster artwork. Clash of the Artists participants were chosen by community vote on social media. Local artists competing are J. Ben Moss aka Ploid, Sebastian Williams, Linda Moss, and Michael Miller.

In addition to the music and art, there will be more than 70 food and art vendors onsite and a children’s area sponsored by Lang Orthodontics with multiple activities planned throughout the afternoon. There will be a free shuttle provided by AEP/Swepco.

For more information visit, https://www.highlandjazzandblues.org.
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About the Highland Jazz & Blues Festival Presented by Lagniappe P.R.I.M.E., LLC.:
Launched in 2003, the festival has grown from a handful of bands and a crowd of 500-1,000 to a gathering including two stages, nine bands, posters, t-shirts, food and art sales, and 10,000 music fans in Highland’s beautiful Columbia Park. The annual festival is a gift to the community from the Highland Area Partnership doing business as the Highland Jazz & Blues Festival. Proceeds from the posters, t-shirts, and beverage sales, donations, and sponsorships are used to bring the festival back each year.

More about the New Orleans Nightcrawlers:
One of the hottest bands to come out of New Orleans’ sizzling brass band scene, the Nightcrawlers have been beguiling local and foreign audiences for years with their intoxicating combination of traditional jazz, modern funk, and “a booty-shaking, hanky-waving rhythmic base that would set even the most rhythmically impaired among us to stomping” (Replay magazine). The talented composers, arrangers, and improvisers that make up this ensemble cut their teeth with a who’s who of Crescent City music – including Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, Harry Connick, Jr., Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Dukes of Dixieland, Better than Ezra, and Galactic. They’ve also been featured with many other beloved local bands, such as Bonerama, Papa Grows Funk, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Royal Fingerbowl, New Birth Brass Band, and Otra. When they’re not exciting the locals with their infectious, original music (captured impressively on their five critically acclaimed CDs), they’re spreading their contagious Crescent City sound worldwide. You may have even seen their featured appearance on the acclaimed animated TV series The Simpsons! The New Orleans Nightcrawlers won a Grammy award in 2021 for Best Regional Roots Music Album.