Noteworthy in Nola

This year the cost of tickets went up (again) and have caused a good deal of commotion here in the city.

The two arguments go:

Pro:

$50 a day for a couple dozen acts preforming on 10 stages is NOTHING. Stop whining- you’d pay more than that for a single big-name concert and think nothing of it. Plus you’ve got the food, the artists and everything that comes along with it. To quote an out of town regular attendee as commenting on nola.com: “I have said in previous blogs that the New Oreleanian is spoiled. There is some much great music, food and culture that you all take for granted. ”

Con:

Yeah, of course we’re spoiled! We’ve got free music in the city every damn day. What we don’t have is a lot of money- you’ve gotta drop a minimum of an extra $50 just trying to stay hydrated in the heat. This supposed celebration of all things New Orleans has priced out the locals who made it great and disregarded any authenticity it ever had. Honestly- isn’t this supposed to be JAZZfest? It’s gotten so commercial and they keep bringing in big name acts to support the prices- Jimmy Buffett? Kenny Wayne Sheppard?

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As for me, I happily go for one day each weekend and that’s good enough for me. I’m not a die hard fan trying to go all seven days, so the cost is much easier for me to absorb. I can see both sides of the argument… and although I do generally agree with the whole “Jazzfest is supposed to be for jazz” theme, I have to admit that my attendance day pick for this weekend is Saturday- when Billy Joel is closing out the Accura stage.

I have Billy Joel issues. What can I say? I was raised in the Northeast. I think it’s the law that you have Billy Joel issues if you grew up there. He’s hardly jazz…but then again he hardly tours. Gotta take him where you can get him, and I know I can get him Saturday.

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