The second annual Quantum Leap Music Festival is set to take place at Long Island, New York’s oldest vineyard, the Borghese Vineyard & Winery on August 14-17, 2025. The festival is curated and will be hosted by NEA Jazz Master, educator, performer and architect of Nouveau Swing, New Orleans-born and -raised Big Chief Donald Harrison Jr., who has partnered with independent production team NOLA2NOFO to host the second four-day New Orleans music experience at the vineyard.

The festival will offer great music, food and beverages, including wines, beers and seafood at the vineyard, nestled in the serene summer setting of Long Island’s oldest vineyard in North Fork. The festival promises to be one of the greatest assemblages of iconic New Orleans musicians ever presented on Long Island. The event includes local food and beverage offerings, including seasonal wines from the Borghese Vineyard, artisanal beers from Take Two Brewery, and fresh local seafood from Braun’s Seafood and more.

The second annual Quantum Leap Music Festival is a rare opportunity to experience more than two dozen top-selling, award-winning musicians from across the New Orleans musical spectrum, plus other national musicians who are regular collaborators with New Orleans artists, curated through the artistic lens of one of the most dynamic and respected eclectic musicians from New Orleans. The festival will include local artisanal wines, beers, seafood, BBQ and more.

ARTIST LINE-UP (Check here for additions to the lineup):

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14 (4 p.m. – 11 p.m.):

• “Roots to Infinity” Artist Talk with NEA Jazz Master Donald Harrison & guests Donald Harrison’s Nouveau Swing Jazz Experience featuring singer-songwriter Syndee Winters
• The New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars
• Zaccai Curtis (2025 Latin Jazz Grammy Award Winner)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15  (4 p.m. – 11 p.m.):

• Big Chief Donald Harrison Jr & The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Group with special guest Chief Adjuah (fka Grammy Award-winning Christian Scott)
• The Quantum Leap Music Festival All-Star Jam Band featuring Donald Harrison, Raymond Weber, Wil Blades, Will Bernard, Nori Naraoka, and more
• Erica Falls (2023 Grammy Award Winner)
• CJ Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band (Multiple Grammy Nominee)
• DJ ANTWIGADEE!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16 (4 p.m. – 11 p.m.):

• Vasti Jackson Band (Grammy Award Winner + Living Blues Award Legend)
• The Quantum Leap Music Festival All-Star Jam Band featuring Donald Harrison, Raymond Weber, Wil Blades, Will Bernard, Nori Naraoka, and more
• Leo Nocentelli of The Meters (Rock & Roll Hall of Famer)
• Dirty Dozen Brass Band (2023 American Roots Grammy Award Winners) 

SUNDAY, AUGUST 17 (4 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.):

• Kyle Roussel
• Preservation Hall Legacy Band
• Donald Harrison’s Electric Soul Project with special guests
• The Headhunters featuring the legendary Cyril Neville

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

When: August 14 through 17, 2025, from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily. Live music from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Where: Castello di Borghese Vineyard & Winery, 17150 Middle Road (Route 48), Cutchogue, Long Island, NY, 11935

Tickets: Both Single-Day Tickets and All-Weekend Passes are now on sale. Single Day tickets range from $45 – $95, and All-Weekend Passes range from $200 – $250. Join the festival e-newsletter mailing list for advance announcements here.

Parking: This event requires mandatory valet parking, but the cost of the valet parking provided at the vineyard is included in all ticket prices. Guests are expected to tip their valets accordingly.

Admission, Seating and Capacity: This event is strictly General Admission, there is no reserved seating. There will be 250 first-come, first-served General Admission seats available under a tented area. There will also be open grass area for blankets and a limited number of folding lawn chairs. Blankets and folding lawn chairs are welcome. No camping is allowed. The music stage will be located outdoors. This is a limited capacity festival, so advance tickets are strongly suggested. Parking, stage viewing and outdoor bathrooms are all ADA-accessible. If you have handicap or mobility challenge questions, please email the festival via [email protected] . This is a 21+ event with proper photo ID required for entry.

Outside Food & Drink Policy: There is no outside food or drink permitted at the festival. There will be fantastic food and drink vendors on-site with many choices for purchase. No coolers, ice chests, or picnic baskets will be admitted on the grounds.

Rain & Refund Policy: This is a Rain or Shine festival with a limited indoor wine tasting room and a generous tented area with seats. The festival carries a No Refunds Policy on ticket sales. Weather is expected to be beautiful. Guests are welcome to re-sell or transfer tickets to others if they find they can no longer attend, but there are no ticket refunds.

Quantum Leap Festival is 21+, with proper photo required for entry. Cash, cash apps, and credit cards will be accepted by various vendors on-site at the festival. No pets, please.

Go here for updates, announcements, travel and lodging info.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, DONALD HARRISON:

National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master, Big Chief Donald Harrison, a New Orleans native, is a versatile saxophonist and composer hailed by music legends like Eddie Palmieri and Nicholas Payton as a genius. His innovative contributions to jazz, soul, funk and classical music have earned him recognition as a master musician of every era. In the HBO series “Tremé,” director David Simon depicted Harrison’s musical and cultural work through two characters. Harrison has also acted and played music in Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme’s film “Rachel Getting Married,” Spike Lee’s documentary “When the Levees Broke,” and Marvel’s “Luke Cage.”

As the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture and a Chief in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, Harrison’s influence spans continents. His extensive musical journey includes collaborations with jazz luminaries such as Art Blakey, Fred Wesley, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, and Ron Carter, among many others.

Harrison’s contributions to jazz extend beyond performance. He pioneered four influential jazz styles, including his signature modern jazz take on the New Orleans second-line tradition, “nouveau swing,” quantum improvisation with quantum theorist Dr. Stephon Alexander, and multi-genre singles.

In 2022, Harrison was honored with the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Master Award, recognizing his significant contributions to the genre, including his mentorship of diverse artists throughout his career, from The Notorious B.I.G. to Jon Batiste, Christian “Chief Adjuah” Scott, Trombone Shorty and Esperanza Spalding. His exploration of music through the lens of quantum physics in the 2000s further expanded the boundaries of jazz, demonstrating his enduring commitment to innovation and creativity.

Following his 2024 EP on Rope-A-Dope Records, “The Art of Passion,” and the re-release of “Congo Square Suite” by Big Chief Donald Harrison Jr & The Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group with The Moscow Symphony Orchestra this year, Harrison has been back in the lab crafting his next release.

His upcoming recording, “The Magic Touch,” showcases his multi-genre approach to music, consisting of one song played in nine different genres. The first eight styles are post-bop, blues, bossa nova, reggae, hip-hop, second-line, soul, and salsa are true to their styles. The ninth version mixes the first eight styles into a coalesced modern jazz style, an example of his nouveau swing style, utilizing his experiences playing with jazz’s master innovators from every era to create his own new concepts.