new orleans

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

Sunday, October 26, the final day of the 2008 Voodoo Experience, featured performances from Ozomatli reunited with Chali 2na, Lupe Fiasco, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, Morning 40 Federation, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Spoonfed Tribe, Butthole Surfers, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave and R.E.M.

Read more about Voodoo Sunday after the jump

Sunday, October 26, the final day of the 2008 Voodoo Experience, featured performances from a range of musical acts, including Ozomatli, Lupe Fiasco, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Morning 40 Federation, Spoonfed Tribe, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Cowboy Mouth and Butthole Surfers. Watch videos we captured during each of these sets after the jump

Saturday, October 25, the second day of the 2008 Voodoo Experience in New Orleans' City Park, was even more action-packed than day one. Performers we saw included Lil Wayne, Bonerama, Rotary Downs, Thievery Corporation, The Mars Volta, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, The New Orleans Bingo! Show, Vermillion Lies, Ghostland Observatory and Nine Inch Nails.

Read more about Saturday, October 25 at the 2008 Voodoo Experience after the jump

Friday, October 24, 2008 kicked off the tenth edition of the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans' City Park. BOT was there to capture the action, including sets from Zydepunks, The Dirtbombs, The Dynamites ft. Charles Walker, Marva Wright & the BMW's, Joss Stone, Wyclef Jean, 101 Indian Runners, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Erykah Badu, Andre Williams, TV on the Radio, DeVotchKa, The Gutter Twins and Stone Temple Pilots.

Read more about Voodoo 2008, Day 1 after the jump