This past weekend, the 2019 Satchmo SummerFest presented by Chevron celebrated the life, legacy, and music of New Orleans’ native son, Louis Armstrong at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. 
Now in its 19th year, the annual festival was created in honor of Armstrong’s 100thbirthday and quickly grew into a beloved summer tradition. Recently named one of the most “interesting things to experience in Louisiana” by Oprah Magazine, Satchmo SummerFest delivered a showcase of artists, cuisine, and culture to fans from New Orleans and beyond.
Satchmo SummerFest presented by Chevron featured over 30 acts, including a dozen debuts from a range of genres, demonstrating that Armstrong’s influence as an artist and cultural icon is very much alive today. The Roots of Music opened festival on Friday, August 2 with the Satchmo Sound-off on Esplanade Avenue. They were followed by a star-studded day of New Orleans’ legendary performers, including Kermit Ruffins, Corey Henry, Charmaine Neville, and Cyril Neville’s debut at the Fidelity Bank Stage. Inclement weather forced organizers to suspend operations for two hours on Saturday afternoon, but the festival did not miss a beat; Doyle Cooper performed acoustic on the Fidelity Bank Stage, and at the Hilton Satchmo Legacy Stage Sally Young interviewed Deano Assunto about his family’s personal connection to Louis Armstrong. Big 6 Brass Band’s Saturday night debut on the GE Stage ended the day on a high note. The momentum continued to build on Sunday, culminating in the Trumpet Mafia-led Trumpet Tribute presented by Orpheum Theater, joined by surprise-special guests Nicholas Payton and Bill Summers.
Other highlights of the weekend included: the August 1 Kickoff Party, An Evening with Ellis Marsalis and Ashlin Parker, at the Omni Royal Orleans; the 2019 Spirit of Satchmo awards honoring Jackie Harris, Corey Henry, Ricky Riccardi, plus a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award to Dave Bartholomew;Sunday’s Jazz Mass at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Treme that drew worshipers from all over the world; the annual Satchmo Salute secondline parade with a diverse mix of brass bands, baby dolls, and social aid and pleasure clubs; Pops’ Playhouse powered by Entergy New Orleans featuring nine partners with engaging activities like Congo drum making; a diverse culinary lineup that included Café Dauphine and Dorignac’s; and three days of fascinating multi-media presentations on the Hilton Satchmo Legacy Stage, including Melissa Weber, newly appointed curator of the Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, interviewing Grammy artist Nicholas Payton.
Festival organizers are grateful for the support of generous sponsors Chevron,Omni Royal Orleans, WWL-TV, GE, Fidelity Bank, Hilton, New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, Brown-Forman, Abita Brewing Company, Pepsi, The Bombay Club, Orpheum Theater, Harrah’s New Orleans, French Market Corporation, Friend of Fest, Joseph K. & Inez Eichenbaum Foundation, Entergy New Orleans LLC, Boost Mobile, Very Local New Orleans, Blue Bikes New Orleans, Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, Reily Foods, Bayou Rum, Touro, Zapp’s Potato Chips, National Parks Service, JAX Brewery Parking Lots and the Berger Company, Windsor Court Hotel, New Orleans & Company, Rhodes Funeral Home, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, Louisiana Division of the Arts, Barbershop Harmony Society, The Fertel Foundation, New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Mint, New Orleans Advocate/Times-Picayune, OffBeat Magazine, WWOZ 90.7 FM, Cumulus New Orleans, Where Magazine, WGSO, DownBeat Magazine, Louisiana Cookin’, Clarion Herald, WBOK, Vinyl District, New Orleans Magazine, Biz New Orleans, IntheNOLA, and Entercom New Orleans.
