By The Associated Press on January 13, 2023.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Lizzo and Ed Sheeran are among the headliners at this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which takes place over two weekends beginning April 28. The lineup released Friday also includes Dead & Company, Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Santana, Jon Batiste, Jill Scott, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Kane Brown, H.E.R., the Steve Miller Band and Ludacris. Batiste, a New Orleans-area native, is one of many local acts who will perform. Other New Orleans-anchored acts include Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Radiators. The festival, which features hundreds of acts and draws tens of thousands of visitors daily, unfolds on more than a dozen music stages on the infield and surrounding structures of the historic Fair Grounds horse track. It also features scores of food booths that offer delicacies from Louisiana and beyond, plus numerous art and craft exhibitions. Festival organizers said this year’s event also will include a celebration of Puerto Rico, with artist demonstrations, live music and dance showcases, parades, cultural displays, photo exhibits and authentic cuisine. Full schedules haven’t yet been released, but Friday’s announcement said Sheeran, Lizzo, Plant & Krauss, the Steve Miller Band, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gary Clark Jr., Jill Scott, Kenny Loggins and the Wu-Tang Clan will be among the first weekend’s acts. The second weekend will include Dead & Company, Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Santana, Batiste, H.E.R., Kane Brown, Trombone Shorty, Ludacris, Leon Bridges, Tom Jones, Herbie Hancock, Buddy Guy, Irma Thomas, Melissa Etheridge, NE-YO and Galactic, among many others. 8