Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Steely Dan, Trombone Shorty and Beck are among the top names at the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, event organizers announced Tuesday morning.
Also of note: The program will feature at least two tributes to trailblazing artists who died in the last year: bluesman B.B. King and iconic New Orleans bandleader, composer and pianist Allen Toussaint.
Other names of note announced in the lineup video released Tuesday include J. Cole, Flo Rida, Nick Jonas, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, My Morning Jacket, Gary Clark Jr., Bonnie Raitt, Julio Iglesias, Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter, Michael McDonald, Maxwell, Lauren Hill, Johnny Lang, Buddy Guy, Galactic, Janelle Monae, Mavis Staples, Dr. John & The Nite Trippers, Gov't Mule, Arlo Guthrie, Boz Scaggs, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Isley Brothers, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Chris Botti, Grace Potter, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Taj Mahal and Irma Thomas.
Fans of coastal Alabama songwriter supergroup Willie Sugarcapps also have reason to be excited: The group will play Saturday, April 23, the same day that Pearl Jam and Van Morrison top the bill.
As always, the festival lineup leads with an eclectic list of pop headliners, backed by an extensive array of artists representing more traditional styles such as gospel, blues, Cajun, Zydeo and Afro-Caribbean.
Jazz Fest 2016 takes place April 22-24 and April 28-May 1 at the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course. Early-bird ticket prices, which are on offer through Feb. 2 at www.nojazzfest.com, are $60 per day. On Feb. 3 that increases to $65, and prices at the gate will be $75 per day, a $5 jump from last year. For children ages 2-10, tickets are $5 at the gate.
Several VIP options are available, ranging from $600 and $700 up to Big Chief VIP passes, which are $1,200 for the festival's first weekend, $1,400 for the second weekend. On-site parking can be added for $225 or $300 per pass, respectively.
Full festival information, including FAQs and guides for travel and lodging, can be found at www.nojazzfest.com.
Major acts, day by day:
Friday, April 22 - Steely Dan, Janelle Monae, Gov't Mule, Michael McDonald, Grace Potter, The Subdudes, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Kermit Ruffins & The Barbecue Swingers, Buckwheat Zydeco, Donald Harrison Jr., Geri Allen: The Erroll Garner Jazz Project, Cowboy Mouth, Christian Scott, The Black Lillies, Walter Trout, Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys, New Orleans Classic Recording Divas featuring The Dixie Cups, Wanda Rouzan and Jean Knight, Hot 8 Brass Band, Flow Tribe, The Anointed Jackson Sisters, Jason Marsalils, Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers, Bria Skonberg, Talla Walla Vibrations of Belize, Eric Lindell, Alvin "Youngblood" Hart's Muscle Theory and more.
Saturday, April 23 - Pearl Jam, Van Morrison, Maxwell, Boz Scaggs, Galactic, Alpha Blondy & The Solar System, Brothers Osborne, Mystikal, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Anders Osborne, Tab Benoit, Leo Nocentelli, Naturally 7, John Hammond, DeJohnette-Coltrane-Garrison, The Garifuna Collective of Belize, Joe Krown Trio featuring Walter "Wolfman" Washington & Russell Batiste Jr., Bobby Cure Band & The New Orleans R&B Revue featuring Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, Robert Parker, Sammy Ridgley and Joe "Cool" Davis and more.
Sunday, April 24 - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nick Jonas, J. Cole, Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter Duo, Julio Iglesias, Jonny Lang, Better Than Ezra, Elle King, Rhiannon Giddens, CeCe Winans, Voice of the Wetlands All Stars, Taj Mahal & The Trio, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & The Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians, Amanda Shaw, Dede Saint-Prix Band of Martinique, Henry Butler & Jambalaya, Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective, Imagination Movers, Glen David Andrews, Royal Teeth, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet and more.
Thursday, April 28 - Tedeschi Trucks Band & Friends, Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Gary Clark Jr., Flo Rida, Brandi Carlile, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Cyril Neville & SwampFunk, Snarky Puppy, Sonny Landreth, Bernard Allison Group, Corey Harris Band, Lost Bayou Ramblers with special guest Spider Stacy, Pine Leaf Boys, George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners, Meschiya Lake & The Little Big Horns, Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band, Jonathan McReynolds, Wageirale Drummers of Belize, The Suffers, Helen Gillet, New Birth Brass Band and more.
Friday, April 29 - Paul Simon, My Morning Jacket, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Irma Thomas, Elvin Bishop, Los Lobos performs La Pistola y el Corazon, Jazmine Sullivan, Honey Island Swamp Band, Bonerama, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Revivalists, John Boutte, Wayne Toups, John Mooney & Bluesiana, Cash Box Kings, Terrance Simien & The Zydeo Experience, Sweet Pain featuring Chico Ramos and Supa G of Belize, Irvin Mayfield & The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Creole String Beans with special guest T.K. Hulin, Joe Lovano Us Five, C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band, Mississippi Mass Choir, Raw Oyster Cult and more.
Saturday, April 30 - Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg, Beck, Buddy Guy, Dr. John & The Nite Trippers, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jon Batiste & Stay Human, Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Lone Bellow, Gregory Porter, Rebirth Brass Band, Big Freedia, Arturo Sandoval, Kermit Ruffins' tribute to Louis Armstrong, The Soul Rebels, Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas, Ricky Dillard & New G, Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings, Deacon John's Jumpers, Cyril Neville's Royal Southern Brotherhood, Sweet Crude, Kristin Diable, Paul Sanchez & The Rolling Road Show, the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars and more.
Sunday, May 1 - Neil Young, Promise of the Real, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Bonnie Raitt, Arlo Guthrie Alice's Restaurant 50th Anniversary, Mavis Staples, The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald and Ernie Isley, Aaron Neville, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Chris Botti, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk with special guest Art Neville, Punch Brothers, tribute to B.B. King hosted by the B.B. King Blues Band, tribute to Allen Toussaint hosted by the Allen Toussaint Band, Ellis Marsalis, Marcia Ball and more.
Performance schedules have not yet been released; they typically are made public in the weeks ahead of the festival.