Celebrate the life of Louis Armstrong with a fun-filled weekend of activities and music with four stages all located within the Old US Mint including: Traditional Jazz Stage, Contemporary Jazz Stage, and a Brass Band Stage; Plus a Childrens Stage Located in Dutch Alley as well as seminars with nationally renowned speakers. The Satchmo SummerFest also has many special events lined up, including Red Bean Alley featuring local cuisine, a Second Line Parade, a Jazz Mass at the Historical St. Augustine Church and our Red Beans and Rice Luncheon.
The Satchmo SummerFest is A celebration of the Jazz of New Orleans native, Louis Armstrong, the irrepressible trumpeter who carried Satchmo as one of several widely-used nicknames. Most events are free to the public. There's music of course on several stages.
One of the most dynamic personalities of the 20th century, Armstrong almost single-handedly transformed jazz into the popular musical art form it is today. With his trademark solos, his gravelly voice and numerous other stylistic innovations, he became a recording industry superstar and a movie star, as well, playing himself and his horn with a broad, infectious grin. He was a goodwill ambassador for his country for much of his adult life, traveling widely and introducing American jazz to the world.
Although he spent most of his adult life elsewhere and is buried in New York City, Satchmo never forgot his native city. And his native city never forgot him. Satchmo SummerFest started out to be a one-time salute in 2001 to commemorate his 100th anniversary and reaffirm his vital role in the development of American musical culture. However, the festival that year succeeded so well that the city and the festival’s sponsor, French Quarter Festivals, Inc., decided to make it an annual event.
Over the years, Satchmo SummerFest has evolved into what one visiting music writer called “a mini-JazzFest.” With three days of outdoor concerts, music history seminars, jazz exhibits, a jazz mass, a second-line parade and plenty of local food delicacies and drinks, the festival has become a travelers’, as well as a local, favorite. Nearly all of the participating musicians are New Orleans-based. A Satchmo art contest and exhibit at the Crescent City Brewhouse attracts some of the city’s most talented artists to create works in a Satchmo motif. There’s even a fun-filled “Satchmo Strut” down Frenchmen Street, taking in most of the nightclubs in the city’s preeminent live music district.
Louis had many nicknames as a child, all of which referred to the size of his mouth: "Gatemouth," "Dippermouth," and "Satchelmouth." During a visit to Great Britain, Louis was met by Percy Brooks, the editor of Melody Maker magazine, who greeted him by saying, "Hello, Satchmo!" (He inadvertently contracted "Satchelmouth" into "Satchmo.") Louis loved the new name and adopted it for his own. It provides the title to Louis's second autobiography, is inscribed on at least two of Louis's trumpets, and is on Louis's stationery.
For reservations to The Red Beans and Rice Luncheon please call (800) 673-5725 or (504) 522-5730 or visit the website: www.fqfi.org/satchmosummerfest
Celebrate the life of Louis Armstrong with a fun-filled weekend of activities and music with four stages all located within the Old US Mint including: Traditional Jazz Stage, Contemporary Jazz Stage, and a Brass Band Stage; Plus a Childrens Stage Located in Dutch Alley as well as seminars with nationally renowned speakers. The Satchmo SummerFest also has many special events lined up, including Red Bean Alley featuring local cuisine, a Second Line Parade, a Jazz Mass at the Historical St. Augustine Church and our Red Beans and Rice Luncheon.