River Eckert made his Jazz Fest debut in 2024 at 14-years-old. A singer, pianist, composer and arranger, he’s a New Orleans native steeped in his hometown’s indigenous rhythm-and-blues and funk. Eckert returns to the festival this year, moving from the small Children’s Tent and RhythmPOURium stages he performed on last year to the much larger Blues Tent.

“I’ve gone to the Jazz Fest just about every year of my life,” he said. “So, getting to play at Jazz Fest is a dream come true.”

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