Bobby Rush at the 2011 Voodoo Music Experience. Photo by Kim Welsh.

Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival announces headliners, dates for this year

Bobby Rush and Robert Cray will headline the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival when the free event returns to Lafayette Square in New Orleans from Friday, October 13 to Sunday, October 15. Many more artists will be added to the bill for the celebration, which will mark the 12th edition of the festival.

The past year has been pretty big for Rush, who won his first Grammy Award for the 2016 album Porcupine Meat. the 80-year-old blues master also picked up a Best of the Beat Award for the same album, in addition to numerous other accolades. Cray, for his part, has won five Grammy Awards over the course of his career.

In addition to two stages worth of music, Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival will once again feature a local art market and plenty of barbecue. The festival will be accepting applications for food and art vendors through May 28.

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is one of many free festivals put on by the Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the organization behind the signature New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Other events include the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival, Congo Square Rhythms Festival and the Treme Creole Gumbo Festival. The Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival will take place next month, and the event already revealed its lineup