| 2012 Attendance Numbers |
[May. 11th, 2012|04:17 pm] |
WWL reports:
NEW ORLEANS -- Officials from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival released the attendance estimation for the 2012 festival, and organizers believe that 450,000 people attended the seven-day event. The 450,000 attendees is a marked increase from the 2011 festival which saw an estimated 400,000 people. According to organizers, the 2012 festival was the largest since 2003. The 2010 attendance was 375,000, 2009 had 400,000 people and the 2008 festival saw 375,000 - 400,000 attendees. The largest attendance still remains for the 2001 festival which saw 618,000 people and had the one-day record of 160,000 people for headliners Mystikal and the Dave Matthews Band. http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/450000-attend-2012-Jazz-Fest-151177555.html
See recent historical attendance figures here: http://jazzfest.swagland.com/jfattendance.html
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| Fest recaps |
[May. 9th, 2012|09:07 pm] |
Kudos to the Times Picayune for their Jazzfest coverage, which seems to get more extensive every year. All their reviews can be found at http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/. In particular, make sure to check out the Music reviews from A to Z, which has write-ups of over 100 Jazzfest performances!
You can see some reviews from Offbeat at http://www.offbeat.com/blogs. Their full fest coverage - which is always excellent - will be in their June issue, out at the end of this month. |
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| Swag's observations |
[May. 9th, 2012|08:51 pm] |
I had a great Fest. The weather was excellent, the music lineup was strong, and the vibe was excellent.
A few semi-random observations:
The Fest did a much better job this year with recycling. The vast majority of trash cans had a recycling can right next to them.
It was crowded. We'll likely get some sore of official ballpark numbers soon, but from what I saw, this was the best attended Jazz Fest since Katrina. But no, the total numbers didn't approach the records set back in 2001. The Acura Stage was packed out for Tom Petty, for Bruce Springsteen, and for the Eagles. The Springsteen crowd was very early to arrive, with the lawn basically full shortly after noon. Of the three days, surprisingly (to me), I think the Eagles was the most crowded.
For Petty, we were set up towards the front but on the side, in front of the Krewe VIP stands. I had left to see the Midnite Disturbers, and had a heck of a time getting back after, as the walkways from the track were totally clogged. But for the other two big days, we were near the back, and despite the huge crowds, you could still get in and out. Big kudos to the Fest for painting the "aisles" from the ramps down into the crowd, these walkways remained usable (single file, but passable) all day long. During Bruce and the Eagles, I could still get out and back in, to use the port-o-lets or to buy a beverage.
Even on the crowded days, the port-o-let and food lines stayed reasonable. When the port-o-let lines looked long, I could always find a shorter line 20-30 yards away at the other end of the bank. I think the longest port-o-let line I waited on had just 2 or 3 people in front of me.
Unlike the port-o-lets, the line at the Grandstand raw bar for oysters was long, throughout the Fest. But great to have them back after the BP-related absence last year.
Did anyone check out the new Dell Tent? I walked by it once or twice, but barely notice it. It's good that they could find a spot on the rather full Fairgrounds to set that up without blocking other stuff.
The Gentilly sound booth was moved to the right, off center, towards the track. The result was much less lawn space that had a blocked view of the stage.
If you don't have exact bus fare, RTA will now give you a change card (paper voucher) that can be used on your next ride. I'm not sure when this started, but it's a customer-friendly move, for sure. |
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| Hotel deal recap |
[May. 9th, 2012|07:56 pm] |
Recapping the 2012 Fest season results from Priceline, in the end, the deals looked a lot like they did in 2011. - Deals did come through for both weekends, but only within a week or so of check-in. That meant that you needed nerves of steel, since the deals appeared after many backup reservation cancellation deadlines had already passed. And it meant that if you were staying both weekends, you probably had to change hotels; I didn't see any nice deals that spanned both weekends.
- The sweet spot for weekend stays turned out to be in the $100-120 range. That's about the same as 2011, but higher than years earlier.
- Midweek nights are still a bargain, attainable in the $60 range.
- As with 2011, the majority of late deals came from various brands under the Marriott corporate umbrella.
For whatever reason, there was almost no successes reported from Hotwire this year.
Start looking over the next two months to find a cancellable backup for 2013, and stay subscribed to this blog to learn of any deals that may pop up as soon as this summer. |
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| Posters shipping |
[May. 9th, 2012|07:48 pm] |
Art4now reports that posters ordered online before the Fest have begun to ship. They ship the earliest orders first, and it sometimes takes a couple of months to get them all out, so if you ordered late, have patience.
The Fest poster of Trombone Shorty apparently sold out late second weekend for the numbered and C-marque editions. Signed and remarque are still available, as are all editions of the Shamarr Allen Congo Square poster. |
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| Lost and Found |
[May. 9th, 2012|07:43 pm] |
If you lost something at the Fairgrounds, you can contact the Fest at lost@nojazzfest.com to see if it was turned in. If you found something, use that same email to see if someone is looking for it.
And if you lost a wedding band, check out this thread. |
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| Marriott 2nd weekend |
[May. 4th, 2012|09:43 am] |
In case anyone is still looking
Via Priceline.
A couple of days ago, I bogged Fr 5/04 - Su 5/06 4* FQ @ $100 => Marriott New Orleans.
Since then, I have a report of $100 being declined, with a $114 counter-offer being accepted at the Marriott. SO it ooke like that deal may still be active, albeit at a slightly higher rate. If your initial attempt gets declined, remember you can re-bid immediately by adding zones without any 4* hotels, like Garden District.
As always, get Jazzfest Priceline info at http://jazzfest.swagland.com/bidding.html.
My direct Priceline.com link. |
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| Webcast schedule |
[May. 2nd, 2012|05:26 pm] |
Second weekend - Streaming video.
http://www.youtube.com/jazzfest
All times CDT. Shows marked with * asterisks are rcorded from weekend one.
Friday May 4
14:00
Marcia Ball
14:05
Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers
15:00
Roddie Romero & the Hub-City Allstars *
15:15
Papa Grows Funk *
15:25
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
15:45
Bonerama
16:35
Voice of the Wetlands Allstars *
16:55
Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes *
17:15
Zac Brown Band
17:30
Rodrigo y Gabriela and C.U.B.A.
19:00
Glen Hansard *
19:00
GIVERS *
19:30
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band *
19:55
Bon Iver *
20:00
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue *
Saturday May 5
14:00
Allen Toussaint
14:05
Anders Osborne
14:55
The Dixie Cups *
15:05
Cowboy Mouth *
15:10
Irma Thomas
15:35
Better Than Ezra
16:45
George Porter, Jr. & Runnin' Pardners *
17:25
Jumpin' Johnny Sansone *
17:25
My Morning Jacket
17:55
Zebra *
18:55
Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk *
20:00
Janelle Monae *
Sunday May 6
14:00
Galactic
14:00
funky Meters
15:15
Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers
15:45
Bonnie Raitt
17:10
Tribute to Alex Chilton feat. Dave Pirner, Alex McMurray, Susan Cowsill, Doug Garrison and René Coman *
17:10
Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys *
17:45
The Neville Brothers
18:10
The New Orleans Bingo! Show *
19:00
Creole String Beans
19:40
Preservation Hall and Friends
20:00
Jimmy Buffett, Acoustic - with Mac McAnally
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