Over 57,000 tourists and locals flocked to the Old U.S. Mint for Satchmo SummerFest 2014, nearly doubling attendance numbers from 2012.
Photo by Willow Haley
The three day celebration of Louis Armstrong started 14 years ago in clubs down Frenchmen Street and has grown steadily into the summer festival staple it is today.
This year’s festivities were largely free of inclement weather, which allowed the crowds to dance, eat, drink, celebrate New Orleans jazz, and wish Louis Armstrong a happy birthday.
Performers ranged from Frenchmen Street regulars like John Boutté and the Shotgun Jazz Band to Yoshio Toyama and his wife Keiko, who flew to New Orleans from their native Japan to perform at Satchmo SummerFest with their band the Dixie Saints.
As New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation president Mark Romig announced at the opening ceremony just before Louis Armstrong’s birthday cake was served, Satchmo SummerFest played an integral role in raising hotel occupancy rates across New Orleans to 98 percent for the night of August 2.
The 15th annual Satchmo SummerFest is scheduled to take place July 30-August 2, 2015.
