Satchmo Summerfest

Festival is now $ 5. So, no longer free. But, still amazing. Tons of fried food and refreshing cold drinks in bucket size quantities.
Folks set up lawn chairs under the open air tent and when they are not eating and drinking generally they can be found dancing.
I got a $ 6 handmade pineapple lemonade that was brain freeze refreshing. The ladies who made it were so friend and local it was awesome.
Plenty of room to spread your toes on the grass. The vibe is small town parade day. The music makes your heart want to explode with joy and pride. Get your snacks, your dance and your vibe on and your chair will be waiting when your done.
The music is real and amazing. The NPR sponsor announcement in between sets are necessary evil.
The tented shady areas, the fans and the overall adult vibe make this a really fun and special New Orleans experience.
Happy Birthday Louis Armstrong!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this FREE festival. You can’t beat it. I know a previous resident of NO said this was his least fav festival, but I can tell you coming from Texas this was a blast!!! 3 days of FREE music all things Louis, seminars, nonstop music with 1 stages, great food (sorry San Antonio I’m tired of food on a stick!) Be sure to bring your sack chairs so u don’t have to stand all day. We were there all day and had a great. Charlene Neville and other great bands played. And the people??? Need I say more about New Orleans people?

Um free amazing jazz — it’s hard to complain! It’s hard to judge other free music festivals fairly after going to the French Quarter Fest, but I think this one stands apart as being a great event.
There are two main stages and lots of space to be able to see and hear them without being super crowded. That being said, the more popular acts are a bit harder to see. However, you should be dancing anyhow! Also, be ready to be hot. While there are a lot of great local food vendors. It’s nice to be able to bring your own food and drinks if you’re price conscious. There are also seminars during the day that you can go to.
It was nice to come after work in the early evening to hear music and not have to deal with super hot weather. Love Yoshio Toyoma and was so happy to hear him live!
Finally — I did not know there was a US mint in New Orleans and kinda want to take a further peek now.

hot… hot…
free small jazz festival that is in a great location. Beer, food vendors, two bandstands loaded with great local trad jazz groups. You want to learn swing dancing? This is a great opportunity (and there usually is a swing competition at one of the hotels that weekend, too).
The good news is, this is a small little festival held on the cusp of Esplanade. When it gets too hot, even for the shade, just duck into Checkpoint Charlies to recoup and head back out. The bad news is, this is held within the Old Mill grounds which is a relatively small space so by primetime, it’s going to be jam packed with sweaty (old) bodies.

This is probably one of my least favorite fests as it is held at the absolute hottest time of year in New Orleans and it is usually doesn’t draw many people so that lowers the fun vibe. It is a free festival and it is still New Orleans so you can definitely still have fun at this event just don’t expect it to be on the same level as most of the other local festivals. There are a limited number of vendors as the limited space doesn’t allow for many. If you’re a hard core Jazz fan that doesn’t like crowds and doesn’t mind the heat you can really enjoy yourself. I have to concede that my least favorite fest in New Orleans is much better than the best festival most other places :)

New Orleans as GOT to be the Jazz Capital of America. New Orleans has a richness about it I can’t explain. Just expect it to be hot, humid and always unique, fun, intriguing, educational and MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC. And this festival was no different. Great atmosphere and musicians.

First — for those who are complaining about the heat — I have two things to say…
1 — This is a celebration of the great Louis Armstrong. If you don’t like the fact it is held the weekend of August 4^th, take it up with his mother… that is the day he was born (note — there is no longer controversy about this — he celebrated July 4^th, but after his death it was discovered his actual birthday was August 4^th, as was discussed in almost every lecture presented at the festival)
2 — This is New Orleans, get over it.
The daily lectures were held in Maison, which is air conditioned btw. And the folks there did everything possible to provide a good time for all attendees — kudos to them.
Enormous kudos to Marci and all the volunteers! They were amazing — people were everywhere to assist in getting people to the right place at the right time, and provide accurate information.
The musicians were the true stars — performing that wonderful life-​fulfilling jazz music we all love so much. What a celebration of Louis’ life!
This was the first time I was able to make it, but I will definitely be back in the future. Thanks for everything, and a big salute to Mr Armstrong in the sky… You still swing, Louis!

I have never been to Satchmo Fest before today. My work schedule usually interferes. It is not as crowded as most of the festivals I have been but it offers a lot. Great music, great vender’s and fun times. I didn’t get to stay very long (work again). I highly recommend.

As New Orleans music festivals go Satchmo Summerfest is just OK. I tend to go to all of them and I know people will say it’s free but, I think there is a lot more you could do with this one to improve Summerfest.
To me the finest point is the Satchmo Strut (it’s a pub crawl!) down Frenchmen on Friday night. You pay for a wristband but that gets you into all of the clubs along the way. This is definitely a good time!
As for the Festival part at the Mint, I think the area is way too small to try and cram all those stages into such a small space. If you were to spread it out along the riverfront or the Quarter it would be much more enjoyable (like French Quarter Fest which is produced by the same group). The food is very limited but I’m sure that is because the space is also so limited. Then add to that the fact that it takes place in the dead of summer and the heat is brutal. All that combined with such close confines and it doesn’t so much for me at all.
In a city that has so many music festivals this one ranks near the bottom for me EXCEPT the Friday night Satchmo Strut.

I wholeheartedly agree with the other posters on this one – nothing is more pleasurable in New Orleans than the words «free festival» and «free-​flowing beer,» in the same sentence.
The Satchmo Summerfest is a great event for everyone – including the kids. During the Festival, the organizers offer educational lectures to the public, which chronicle the life and success of Louis Armstrong. There are also food stands which serve classic New Orleans fare, and most importantly, the organizers make sure there is great music playing at every second. There are multiple stages surrounding the old U.S. Mint where you can sit (or dance) in the shade and enjoy an alcoholic beverage and the sound of blaring music. This year, the Festival coincided with the Napoleon exhibit in the old U.S. Mint, so the organizers gave the Festival-​goers free admission to see the Napoleon-​era relics that had come into town.
Simply put, great festival, at a great price. :)

Free jazz, plenty of food and drink, and a really cool setting to boot.
Summerfest is pretty damn cool, with multiple stages of jazz going on simultaneously and a couple dozen food and beverage booths offering nothing but local eats. The area it was in was pretty small, so there wasn’t too much walking around, but as we moved around the exterior of the Mint, none of the bands bled together.
To beat the heat, we took advantage of the Mint letting people in for free and walked around in the AC for a while. This was more fun than I thought it would be, and it kept me from suffering heat stroke, which was pretty nice too.
Once sufficiently cooled down, it was back out to Satchmo Summerfest for more jazz and Abita. It was a good time, and admission was free, so it just couldn’t be beat.

I gotta say, it was nice to cruise into a free festival and soak up some jazz. One of the volunteers took a shot at Jazz Fest («we don’t charge $ 50 just to walk in the gate. we are free!») but it is a much more low-​key affair. Four stages clustered around the Old U.S. Mint building, with $ 4 Abita, $ 5 vodka lemonade and $ 1 water, plus po boys and red beans and rice.
The music was great, and so was the atmosphere. Of course, it was hotter than hell, so that was sort of a negative. On the plus side, the Mint building is air conditioned, so you can duck in there and soak up some coolness along with New Orleans history…

Do you like free festivals?
Do you like jazz and blues music?
Do you like beer and po’boys?
Do you like sweating profusely?
If you answered «yes» to three or more of the above questions, Summerfest is for you. I attended the Saturday portion of the 2008 festival, and it was a good time, although not as awesome as the French Quarter festival.
The upside is that Summerfest is scaled down, so there is no hiking from one stage to the next. All the stages are located at the Old US Mint. Crowds are also much more manageable. There were four stages, and only at one (the Brass Band stage) was it difficult to get a prime spot. The Traditional Jazz Stage, BTW, was the best in terms of shade.
Which brings me to the real problem with Summerfest – it is so damn hot. That should not be too much of surprise (New Orleans in August) but the fact remains that it is difficult to enjoy some of the music when your only choice is to swelter without shade. Why do they not start this thing at 5pm?
Well, you can cool yourself down with 4 dollar Abita beers. If you really want to do this right, you have to get there early, bring a folding chair, and set yourself up under one of the few trees.