Jazz Fest 2024

Give Us A Sign: A Portrait of The Dixie Cups by Kellie Talbot HISTORY  Each year since the Jazz Fest Poster Project debuted in 1975, we choose a subject to represent our culture. Easy back then: A few grand marshals, a big band, a bit of gospel, zydeco and intimate music scenes.   Lightning struck in 1989 when we began depicting artists who bent American culture to their will starting with Fats Domino through to Jon Batiste in 2022. Last year we honored the place they all passed through. Michalopoulos’ portrait of the French Quarter nailed the spirit that propelled it all; the caldron of soul, surrender and joy that thrust us onto the world stage. What had we missed those 49 years? Oh Lord, give us a sign for the half-century capstone of New Orleans’ visual jazz.  DESTINY  That sign came in the form of a memory triggered by a song heard on WWOZ, recalling a typically loud lunch at Mother’s in 1974 when the juke box blared as we conjured that first poster on that corner of Poydras t