The placement of names on the 2026 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival talent announcement isn’t random.
Where a name appears on that top-down list is often negotiated between the marquee acts’ representatives and the festival.
The first three, and thus most prominent, names on the 2026 announcement — officially unveiled Thursday after a draft version leaked the previous day — are classic rock Jazz Fest veterans: the Eagles, Stevie Nicks and Rod Stewart.
The fourth name hails from a different generation of arena rock, but has also previously played the Fair Grounds: Kings of Leon.
After Kings of Leon, the Jazz Fest lineup list pivots to fresh faces, including a tattooed one.
Teddy Swims, the Georgia native with a fondness for upper body ink, first earned a following via YouTube videos of cover songs; he slips easily from R&B to soul to country to rock. His own “Lose Control” catapulted him to international stardom.
Lainey Wilson receives the top award for the evening, entertainer of the year, during the 59th Annual Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday.
Lainey Wilson is one of the biggest new names in contemporary country music. In November, the native of Franklin Parish’s tiny Baskin hosted the Country Music Association Awards telecast and won Entertainer of the Year.
More Jazz Fest first-timers turn up on the poster’s second line. They include Tyler Childers, the throwback country/bluegrass singer from Kentucky, and Raye, the British pop songwriter turned hitmaker in her own right.
Lorde performed at the 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. She returns for the 2026 edition.
They’re slated to join Lorde, David Byrne, T-Pain, the Black Keys, Nas, Widespread Panic, Earth Wind & Fire, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Tedeschi Trucks Band, St. Vincent, Alabama Shakes, Herbie Hancock and Ziggy Marley at the Fair Grounds, alongside Jon Batiste, the Revivalists, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Irma Thomas and the hundreds of other Louisiana acts that give Jazz Fest its distinct personality.
All-in ticket pricing
The festival’s two four-day 2026 weekends are April 23-26 and April 30-May 3.
The first weekend features Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, Kings of Leon, Lorde, Jon Batiste, Tyler Childers, David Byrne, Raye, Nas, Sean Paul, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, St. Vincent, Irma Thomas, The Isley Brothers, The Revivalists, Carlos Vives and Blind Boys of Alabama, among many others.
Don Henley, left, Deacon Frey and Joe Walsh of the Eagles perform during a stop of the band’s ‘The Long Goodbye’ tour at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Staff photo by Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune)
Stars of the second weekend include the Eagles, Lainey Wilson, Teddy Swims, The Black Keys, T-Pain, Widespread Panic, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Alabama Shakes, Herbie Hancock, Ziggy Marley, Lake Street Dive, Mavis Staples, Dianne Reeves, Big Freedia, Little Feat and Galactic featuring Jelly Joseph.
Jazz Fest typically rolls out its roster in mid-January. But this year, staffers at Quint Davis’s Festival Productions Inc.-New Orleans and AEG Presents were able to confirm the approximately 650 acts sooner than usual.
Releasing the lineup in December allows more time to market the festival and gives fans a chance to buy tickets as Christmas presents.
Four-day weekend ticket packages go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via www.nojazzfest.com, which redirects buyers to axs.com.
Nas with guests The Soul Rebels perform on the Congo Square Stage during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans on Friday, April 28, 2017.(Photo by Brett Duke, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
In past years, ticket prices on the Jazz Fest website did not include additional fees and taxes added at checkout. This year, the prices on Jazz Fest’s ticketing page are “all-in,” including fees.
Once again, Louisiana residents get a discount. The all-in price for Louisiana residents for a four-day general admission pass is $319. The price for non-residents is $399.
Single-day tickets are not yet on sale, and likely won’t be until the day-by-day schedule is announced in early 2026.
Big name acts, Jamaica spotlight
Jamaica is the 2026 spotlight country at the festival. Programming at the Cultural Exchange Pavilion and elsewhere throughout the grounds will showcase the music and culture of Jamaica.
Jon Batiste headlined the Gentilly Stage during the second day of the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
The official 2026 Jazz Fest poster, by artist Paul Rogers, is titled “Streetcar Ramble.” It depicts Louis Armstrong riding at the front of the St. Charles Avenue streetcar with Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Jon Batiste and the Treme Brass Band’s “Uncle” Lionel Batiste and Benny Jones.
The mix of big name acts on the 2026 roster adhere to the general blueprint the festival has followed for years: two or three arena-sized classic rock acts, a couple of younger rock bands, at least one major country star, a couple of pop artists and rappers and a sampling of veteran R&B bands.
Since September 2024, the Eagles have locked into a leisurely residency at Sphere, the sensory-immersive Las Vegas venue. They’ve typically performed four times a month at Sphere. The band’s final run of 2026 Sphere shows concludes on March 28, freeing them up to land at the Fair Grounds a month later. They previously played Jazz Fest in 2012.
Nicks first performed at the festival with Fleetwood Mac in 2013. She was booked as a solo artist at the 2020 and 2021 Jazz Fests, both of which were canceled by COVID. She then drew one of the largest crowds of the 2022 festival, which was her first performance after the pandemic.
Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne delivered a well-received, innovative set at the 2018 Jazz Fest and is back again this year.
Rod Stewart, another veteran of the 2018 Jazz Fest, has embarked on what he says will be his final tour.
Tyler Childers performs at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, La., Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Photo by Sophia Germer, The Times-Picayune)
Kentucky-born Tyler Childers, who filled the Smoothie King Center in April with his country/bluegrass hybrid, seems like a natural fit for Jazz Fest.
Both R&B legends Earth Wind & Fire and jam band Widespread Panic have made numerous appearances at Jazz Fest over the decades.
Lorde, the pop singer from New Zealand, played the Gentilly Stage on a gray day in 2017.
Go to www.nojazzfest.com for more details.
