A BRIEF HISTORY OF VOODOO FEST
So, it’s early July and you, for some reason, are already planning your Halloween night activities. Good for you, you forward-thinking person! It’s time for a trip to New Orleans for Voodoo Fest. But what IS Voodoo Fest?
Officially named the Voodoo Music and Arts Experience, Voodoo Fest has become a Halloween destination for festival-goers around the world — over a million of them, in fact. From relatively modest beginnings as a one-day event to its current incarnation as a three-day juggernaut, the festival has always hosted an incredibly diverse selection of acts. In its 20 years of existence, the festival has hosted everyone from Eminem to Mumford and Sons. Hell, this year’s headliners are Guns n’ Roses, Beck and Post Malone, which is either an inspired piece of cross-generational programming or three names from inside Karnak the Great’s envelope.
The festival isn’t just for tourists — Voodoo Fest has shown its hometown some love too. After Hurricane Katrina’s devastation New Orleans, the festival organizers staged an invitation-only concert for the first responders, rescue workers, and members of the armed forces who had helped the city recover.
This year’s festival runs from Oct 25-27 and features dozens of bands for music fans of all tastes.
FOOD! BEER! HAUNTED HOUSES!
Like any other modern music festival behemoth, Voodoo Fest offers side attractions aplenty. Ride a Ferris wheel! Check out Art Installations! Get freaked out at the Haunted Mortuary! Drink premium craft beverages at the “Brew Dat” beer tent, which we promise we are not making up.
The night before the festival you can purchase a ticket to Feast Under the Stars, a five-course meal on the festival grounds with dishes by celebrity Chef Aarón Sánchez and friends. Voodoo Fest’s website describes the dinner as, “A sneak peek of Voodoo Fest before gates open the following day.” Maybe you’ll get lucky and catch a sound check from your favorite band.
I’M SOLD! GIVE ME VOODOO!
Okay! Stop yelling at us! If this sounds like the kind of thing you might enjoy, you can buy tickets an book accommodations right now at voodoofestival.com. Pour one out for Dr. John while you’re there. He’s walking on gilded splinters in a better place now
KNOW YOUR HEADLINERS: A quick guide to the top acts at Voodoo Fest
Guns N’ Roses
Lead by Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer, and Melissa Reese, Guns N’ Roses is an American rock band started in 1985. Their album Appetite for Destruction was certified platinum, and in 2011 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Recently, GNR has toured in Europe and Asia and is currently on a North American tour. Guitarist Slash has dropped hints the past few months that tell fans a new album may be released soon, but for now, the band performs classic hits such as Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet O’ Child of Mine. The Voodoo Experience will round out a busy October for the band, as they will have headlined both Exit 111 in Tennessee and Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Post Malone
Post Malone is a hip hop artist who is just emerging as a star. Winning song of the year for his hit song Rockstar, Post also received four Grammy nominations as well as 12 Billboard Music Award nominations in 2019. His first album, Stoney, where he was able to work with artists such as Kanye West, Justin Beiber, Quavo, Young Thug among others. Malone is most commonly described as a mix of hip-hop, country, and pop music, and is heavily influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. In August of 2017, Post Malone broke Michael Jackson’s record of consecutive weeks on top of Billboard’s Top R&B and Hip-Hop Albums chart. Recently Post Malone has been touring in Europe, Australia and across North America.
Beck
Beck Hansen, widely known by just Beck, is an American Alternative Rock artist from California. His albums Sea Change and Odelay have both been listed on Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time. In April of 2019, Beck and Pharrell Williams released a single titled Saw Lightning. At the same time, Beck announced he will have a new album released in the summer of 2019 titled Hyperspace. Throughout his career, Beck has received seven Grammy Awards to go along with 17 nominations. He is currently touring across North America but has performed in Europe as well.
Along with Guns N’ Roses, Post Malone and Beck, artists such as Bassnectar, Brandi Carlile, The National, Bishop Briggs, Denzel Curry, Interpol, Zhu, Moon Taxi and many others will be performing at Voodoo 2019.
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