jazz fest

Busy in the studio working on their seventh full length album, Austin natives Spoon have just released a handful of dates surrounding their previously announced April 24th gig at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Fortunately for us Houstonians, Britt Daniel and the rest of Spoon realized that a pit stop at our favorite mid-size venue, Warehouse Live, would suit them perfectly on their trek down to the Big Easy.

Check out the full list of dates after the jump

The 40th anniversary line-up for the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was announced today, bringing out several favorites and familiar faces. The first weekend of the festival, set to take place April 24-26, will feature headliners Wynton Marsalis, Dave Matthews Band and James Taylor, with the daytime slots being filled by the likes of Wilco, Earth Wind & Fire, Spoon, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, The Avett Brothers, Kinky, Del McCoury Band and a host of others.

The second weekend of the festival, April 30-May 3, has Aretha Franklin, Ben Harper & the Relentless 7, and a slot for a TBA performer on top of the bill, with Kings of Leon, Tony Bennett, Bonnie Raitt, Common, Buddy Guy, Toots & the Maytals, Doc Watson and more holding down the daytime.

As always, the festival leans quite heavily on the music from its host city. New Orleans is well represented with The Neville Brothers, Irma Thomas, Galactic, The Meter Men: Zig, George and Leo, Dr. John and about four hundred more Crescent City artists on the bill.

Check out the full line-up after the jump

New Orleans. Just uttering those two words conjures a wide array of images, from beads and bare breasts to faulty levees and hurricanes (both the disastrous and tasty kinds). But at its core, New Orleans is a city filled with music and culture -- and a guaranteed good time. Each year, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival celebrates the fullness of the city's musical legacy, bringing in heavyweight acts as well as staples of NOLA's music scene. This year's festival, the 39th installment of the event, is certainly no exception: the line-up boasts acts representing genres ranging from jazz (of course) and zydeco to country and jam.

More Jazz Fest info after the jump