(BPRW) Music Lineup Announcement for the Congo Square Rhythms Festival 2026 | Press releases

(BPRW) Music Lineup Announcement for the Congo Square Rhythms Festival 2026

The Congo Square Rhythms Festival Returns to Congo Square in Armstrong Park March 28 and 29, 2026

(Black PR Wire) The 2026 Congo Square Rhythms Festival, powered by Cox Communications and presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, returns to Louis Armstrong Park and Congo Square on Saturday, March 28, and Sunday, March 29, from 10:45 am to 7:30 pm. The Congo Square Rhythms Festival is a free, community celebration of the legacy and culture of enslaved African people and their ancestral traditions. Fest goers and their families are invited to immerse themselves in a cultural experience with two live music stages, food & beverages that embody the African diaspora, and an arts market showcasing the hand-made works of local artisans. For more information, visit www.congosquarerhythms.com.

Admission to the festival is free and open to the public.

Nestled in Armstrong Park, the Congo Square Stage will feature a drum circle each day, and will showcase an impressive array of local talent, including Cha Wa, Zigaboo Modeliste, Kyle Roussel’s Church of New Orleans, and several African dance and drumming ensembles, and more! Simultaneously, the Tremé Stage will feature a variety of musical acts, including New Breed Brass Band, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, Charmaine Neville Band, Preservation Brass, and several more! For the full music lineup, visit www.congosquarerhythms.com.

All events will be livestreamed courtesy of Jazz & Heritage radio station WWOZ 90.7FM.

Learn More 

Two Full Days of Music 10:45am to 7:30pm 

No recording. Please, no audio or video recording of any performances at the festival.

Class Got Brass is presented by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation.

The festival also includes a roaring tribute to New Orleans’ brass band tradition. The Class Got Brass competition is presented by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation and takes place on Saturday, March 28, where middle and high schools in Louisiana have the opportunity to create a New Orleans-style brass band with up to 12 members. They’ll enter a competition in the form of a “second-line” parade with celebrity judges, and more than $50,000 worth of instruments and supplies are up for grabs for the schools’ music programs. Learn more at classgotbrass.org.

The 2026 Congo Square Rhythms Festival is powered by Cox Communications with additional support from Goldfarb Financial, Cathead Distillery, Louisiana Lottery, Urban South, Delta Utilities, Maverick Entertainment Group, WWNO 89.9, WWOZ 90.7 FM, Louisiana Office of Cultural Development, and National Endowment for the Arts. 

About the Gia Maione Prima Foundation:

In 2011, the Gia Maione Prima Foundation was established with the assistance of long-time friend and counsel, Anthony J. Sylvester of Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman LLP. Gia Maione Prima was a singer and the widow of Louis Prima, the famous jazz musician, singer and composer from New Orleans. The GMPF makes donations to tax-exempt organizations supporting and encouraging an appreciation for American jazz, American popular music, and jazz performance as well as the fine arts.

About the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation:

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation invests proceeds from Jazz Fest and additional funds that we raise for year-round programming in education, economic development, and cultural enrichment. Education programs include the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, the Tom Dent Congo Square Lectures, the Class Got Brass competition for school brass bands, a youth audio workshop program, youth vocal workshops, and more!  Economic Development initiatives include the Community Partnership Grants, the Catapult Fund accelerator program and Sync Up entertainment industry workshops.  Cultural enrichment programs include the Jazz & Heritage Concert Series and annual Foundation Festivals: the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, the Congo Square Rhythms Festival, the Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival and the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival. Importantly, these are free programs that the Jazz and Heritage Foundation has developed over many years to ensure that we give back to Louisiana. The Jazz & Heritage Foundation also owns radio station WWOZ 90.7-FM and the Jazz & Heritage Archive.  In late 2014, the Foundation opened the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center – an education and community facility named for the late Jazz Fest founder George Wein and his wife Joyce. In March of 2020, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation established the Jazz & Heritage Music Relief Fund – a statewide relief fund to support Louisiana musicians who were affected by the pandemic. In the last two years the Jazz & Heritage Foundation has been able to provide relief funds of more than $2 million dollars supporting musicians, music industry gig workers, Black Masking Indians and other indigenous cultural practitioners. To learn more about the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, please visit us online at www.jazzandheritage.org

 Source: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation