Special Events

SPECIAL EVENTS

  • Satchmo Soundoff: Music fans of all ages can attend a special performance by some of the city’s youngest and most talented musicians. The Roots of Music presented by Fidelity Bank will kick off this year’s festival Saturday at 11:30am on Esplanade Ave., right outside of the Museum gates. 
  • Satchmo SummerFest Jazz Mass: The Jazz Mass at St. Augustine Church will begin at 10am where attendees can also enjoy a spirited performance by Treme Brass Band. Due to ongoing renovations at St. Augustine Church, mass will be held in the Parish Hall. Please note that space and seating is limited. The mass will be livestreamed on Facebook.com/saintaugchurch. 
  • Satchmo SummerFest Second-Line Parade: The Treme Brass Band will lead attendees out of Sunday mass at St. Augustine Church at 11:15am in the Treme neighborhood and through the French Quarter for a Second-Line parade to the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

llearn about louis! catch past presentations from the satchmo legacy stage at satchmo summerFest!

The Satchmo Legacy Stage features an impressive array of national and international speakers, including jazz scholars, people who knew and worked with Armstrong, historians, Armstrong House Museum faculty, and musicians.

Check out the French Quarter Festivals, Inc. YouTube Channel Playlists to view past presentations – and don’t forget to subscribe!

 

Saturday, August 6 – Sunday, August 7; 1pm-5pm

The Satchmo Legacy Stage in Memory of Joni Berry

Two days of fascinating discussions by renowned Armstrong scholars
Located on the 3rd floor inside the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old .S. Mint

Saturday, August 6, 2022

1:00pm – 1:45pm
Gwen Thompkins: Lawrence Cotton interviewed by Gwen Thompkins
Still going strong at the age of 95, Lawrence Cotton has played piano with Guitar Slim, Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, Dave Bartholomew, and legendary trumpeter Wallace Davenport, among many others. he is a regular at Preservation Hall and continues to perform with his own band, Lawrence Cotton Legendary Experience. Mr. Cotton will be speaking with the New Orleans-based journalist and writer Gwen Thompkins, who is also the executive producer and host of the public radio program “Music Inside Out. For more information, go to musicinsideout.org.

2:00pm – 2:45pm
Keith Hatschek: The Real Ambassadors: Louis Armstrong’s Jazz Opera Collaboration with Dave and Iola Brubeck
Author Keith Hatschek presents the story of the Brubecks’ jazz musical that starred Louis Armstrong and challenged segregation at the height of the civil rights movement. Its 1962 debut rocked the jazz world and proved that Satchmo was once again ready to lend his voice to the fight for equal rights.

3:00pm – 3:45pm
Ricky Riccardi & Keith Hatschek: The Real Ambassadors – A Listening Party
Author Keith Hatschek & GRAMMY-winner Ricky Riccardi bring a listening party with sound recordings, Mosaic outtakes, and rehearsals from The Real Ambassadors jazz musical that starred Louis Armstrong

4:00pm – 5:00pm
Ricky Riccardi: Jewel Brown interviewed by Ricky Riccardi
Jewel Brown was the female vocalist with Armstrong’s All-Stars from 1961 to 1968. Jewel continues to perform and has shared the stage with many artists over the years, including Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie, and Arnett Cobb.

 

Sunday, August 7

1:00pm – 1:45pm
Alex Rawls, Alison Fensterstock, David Kunian and Jennifer Odell: Guided by Satch: A Tribute to John Swenson
Louis Armstrong was music journalist and critic John Swenson’s North Star, and he wrote in his introduction to the Rolling Stone Guide to Jazz and Blues that most of the meaningful music in the late 20th century, from The Rolling Stones to The Sex Pistols, flowed from Satchmo. Swenson spent the last 20 years of his 50-plus year career in New Orleans covering the local scene, writing about local music, and considering the forces that shaped it. Armstrong was one of those forces. Writers Alison Fensterstock, David Kunian, Jennifer Odell and Alex Rawls will talk about Swenson’s work in and on New Orleans with an eye to Armstrong’s influence.

2:00pm – 2:45pm
Ricky Riccardi & Maxine Gordon: Velma Middleton – Her Final Tour with Louis Armstrong’s Band, 1960-1961

Ricky Riccardi and Maxine Gordon will discuss Velma Middleton on her final tour with Louis Armstrong in 1960-61.The presentation will include some rare new audio of Velma in concert in Paris with Louis Armstrong during the filming of Paris Blues that was done in a break from the African tour.

3:00pm – 3:45pm
Dr. Robert S. Mikel: Peter Davis, the Music Master of the Great Louis Armstrong
The purposes of this presentation are 1) to examine the relationship between Louis Armstrong and Peter Davis as student and teacher at the Waif’s Boys Home; 2) to explore the life of Peter Davis as an unsung hero in New Orleans; and 3) to identify and discuss the accomplishments of selected students who studied music under Peter Davis and the potential impact that Louis Armstrong might have had on their contributions to music.

4:00pm – 5:00pm
Ricky Riccardi: Video Pops: Video Pops: The Best of the All Stars
75 years ago, Louis Armstrong broke up his big band and formed a small group, the All Stars, that would serve as his main band for the rest of his career. Join Ricky Riccardi as he screens footage of the All Stars in action from the late 1940s through 1971, with appearances from Jack Teagarden, Trummy Young, Edmond Hall, Tyree Glenn, Billy Kyle and many more!

 

Are you interested in presenting on the satchmo legacy stage in 2023?

The Satchmo Legacy Stage features an impressive array of national and international speakers, including jazz scholars, people who knew and worked with Armstrong, historians, Armstrong House Museum faculty, and musicians. Past presentations have included discussions, live music, and film clips about New Orleans Jazz and the life and music of Louis Armstrong.

Click the blue button below to submit your proposal to present or perform on the Satchmo Legacy Stage at the 2022 Satchmo SummerFest presented by Chevron!

Submission approval is not guaranteed, selections are made at the discretion of French Quarter Festivals, Inc. with the the objective to ensure a diverse and quality experience for festival-goers.