All music and dance lovers are invited to celebrate New Orleans’ traditions rooting from the African diaspora at the 12th annual Congo Square Rhythms Festival presented by New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. The Fest provides a diverse music selection over two days along with New Orleans’ very own Mardi Gras Indians and much more. The event will be held at Louis Armstrong Park on Saturday, March 30 and Sunday, March 31 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days.

Beginning in the 18th century, Congo Square was the gathering site and market for African drumming and dance to be expressed openly for over 100 years. Enslaved Africans were permitted to gather on Sundays at the square to carry on their ancestral traditions of African song and dance. The gathering place and market has since become a worldwide historical site and was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1993.

The Congo Square Rhythms Festival combines live music, a large arts market, and a Soul Food Court with special events to create an immersive experience. Mardi Gras Indians, African dance, brass bands, jazz, soul-funk, and Garifuna music from Honduras and West African Life will hold the festival’s main focus throughout the two days.

The annual Mardi Gras Indian “battle” will be a must-see event happening at the festival, with tribes from various neighborhoods gathering in the center of the square to show cultural unity. The festival is also the location of the Class Got Brass competition. Supported by New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, this competition was created to support arts education while promoting New Orleans’ traditional culture. This competition challenges Louisiana middle school and high schools to form traditional New Orleans brass bands, which then perform for judges at the festival. The schools are provided with instruments and the winner of the competition is awarded $10,000. The application deadline for the Class Got Brass competition is March 22, 2019.

The Festival is free to everyone and will provide food from five different vendors. No outside food, beverages, or pets will be permitted into the festival. For more information, click here.

Festival Lineup:

Saturday, March 30

11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Dzakpa Ewe Ensemble

11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Bamboula 2000

1:00 p.m. to 2 p.m.         The Nayo Jones Experience

2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.    Max Moran and Neospectric

3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.    Mardi Gras Indian Battle

4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.    Chief Monk Boudreaux

5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.    Kumasi Afrobeat Orchestra

 

Sunday, March 31

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.   Open Drum Circle

12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Dance Performances:

                                           Dancing Grounds Elite Feet Krewe

                                           Chakra Dance Theater

                                           Tekrema Dance Theater

                                           N’Kafu  and Culu African Dance Ensembles

                                           Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective

                                           N’Fungola Sibo African Dance Company

                                          Garifuna Generation

1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.   Original Pinettes Brass Band

3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.      Class Got Brass Contest

5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.   Rebirth Brass Band