Jazz Fest Hedges its Bet with The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The decision to book the septuagenarian superstars comes with costs, only some of which will be felt in the wallet.

[Updated] For those who think The Rolling Stones at Jazz Fest is a sign that the festival has lost its way, think again. It’s the booking that Quint Davis always hoped for, the one that validates the festival from Day One. If rock gods influenced by the folk and blues musicians who played the festival’s early years now play the festival themselves, the wheel has come full circle. Besides, Jazz Fest’s musical pantheon is filled with major stars from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, or artists who carry their values forward. Until now, the Stones, the remaining Beatles, and, oddly, Ray Davies of The Kinks, are the biggest stars yet to play Jazz Fest, and this year picks up one of those spares. 

But the booking raises questions. Does a festival always aimed at one destination need to arrive there? On Thursday, Nola.com ran Keith Spera’s account of how the booking came to be and the lengths that Jazz Fest went to keep it a secret, but at a point when the Delta variant is spreading at an exponentially quickening rate, forcing people to stand within three or so feet of each other for a couple of hours with The Rolling Stones invites a superspreader event. 

I don’t know for sure how many tickets Jazz Fest will sell for October 13, but the idea is that the tickets will be capped at a number that will allow everybody on the grounds to see the Stones play their set, which means the Acura Stage capacity will be Jazz Fest’s capacity that day. In 2019, Spera had a source that put the number at approximately 47,000, which sounds like a lot of people for that space but it is also in the ballpark of half of a good day at Jazz Fest. That means the festival needs to maximize the number of people who can see that show and to that end, in 2019, producers planned to make room for as many fans as possible by banning chairs, tarps and blankets that day and only allowing foldable stools or seats that don’t have arms. Maybe this time Jazz Fest will set a lower number, but since the Early Bird tickets in 2019 were $185 and regular General Admission tickets were $250, those numbers will likely go up if the capacity goes down. 

It feels grizzly to talk about the trade-off—ticket prices versus the degree to which people will be able to socially distance—but that’s a 2021 reality that Festival Productions didn’t have to deal with in 2019 when it started this dance with the Stones. 

There are bigger issues, though. Community is an essential part of Jazz Fest at a number of levels. Some musicians are headliners while most aren’t, but at Jazz Fest, the difference isn’t always that pronounced. It has become more so in the last decade, but the musicians are generally presented as peers, and the backstage treatment for most of them is similarly spartan. The Rolling Stones blow any illusion of that out of the water. Unless things change from 2019’s plan, they will perform unopposed by acts on Congo Square, Gentilly, the WWOZ Jazz Tent, or any of the other stages. The other stages will go dark so that everybody can see the Stones, and no one else has had that kind of spotlight. According to Spera, a small village of structures will be built behind the Acura Stage to bring the backstage situation into line with the Stones’ expectations. Others don’t get those concessions, and the festival will break them down on Thursday before the second week of the festival.  

The day also raises fears about what kind of community connection will take place in the crowd. Jazz Fest has always been a gathering of the tribe. To an extent, all festivals are like that, but a 50-year-old festival based on Louisiana roots music is so specific that it inspires a strong sense of connection. The Threadheads are the most concrete manifestation of that phenomenon, but broadly speaking, it’s an essential part of the vibe of the festival. On Wednesday, October 13, the price of the ticket means that everybody who attends will be there for the Stones specifically, and the rest of the lineup will be a secondary concern. The festival’s long-time mission and the acts that embody it will all be reduced to opening acts for The Rolling Stones.

The ticket price is going to be a point of contention on social media, and understandably. I tend to tune out debates about ticket prices because they feel loaded with nostalgia and coded slags for the festival as it exists now, but if the ticket prices follow 2019’s model, the Early Bird tickets will cost more than twice a ticket at the gate for any other day of the festival, and the regular General Admission tickets could approach three times that cost. For Rolling Stones fans, Jazz Fest tickets will be very attractive—much cheaper than the Nashville stop on the tour, where every ticket now costs more than $250, and tickets for the entire tour will only get more expensive. Unfortunately, those prices will also leave a lot of Jazz Fest diehards and New Orleanians on the sidelines that day.  

It’s easy to imagine why Festival Productions booked the Stones. Not only are they one of the biggest rock bands of the Twentieth Century, but in the concert promotion business, they’re one of the biggest fish that Jazz Fest could land. And since Jazz Fest is a day time festival that can’t accommodate an arena band’s elaborate production, the booking is the equivalent of catching a tuna on the rod and reel you used as a kid to catch catfish with your grandpa. It’s a remarkable accomplishment and a tribute to Quint Davis’ determination and reputation in the industry. 

But it’s hard to see how it will work out well, even if you put aside the Delta variant. People coming for the Stones will likely camp out at Acura and see the sets in front of them to maintain their place. Since the attendance will probably be half of a normal good day at Jazz Fest, bands on other stages will probably play to some small crowds. How will that be good for them, other than a paycheck? I have friends who have scarier worries than that, who fear that the Stones will attract people whose cultural politics are at odds with those implied by Jazz Fest and who’ll act out dangerously. That’s not my fear, but in 2021 it can’t be dismissed. 

In the end, the booking feels like Jazz Fest showing that it’s a player in the national festival game, which it doesn’t always seem to be next to the more youth-oriented ACL, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. That’s good, but the cost seems clear. For the first time I can think of the festival’s history, Jazz Fest isn’t betting on New Orleans and its culture to carry the day. 

For more thoughts on The Rolling Stones at Jazz Fest, here’s a take from 2019, much of which still applies.

Updated July 26 at 1:52 p.m.

Today, Jazz Fest updated its website to include ticket information.