Congo Square is set to thrum back to life next weekend, as the Congo Square Rhythms Festival returns to Louis Armstrong Park for a free two-day celebration of African and African-diaspora music, dance and food on March 28-29. The weekend packs in drum circles, brass bands, African dance ensembles and a Mardi Gras Indian "battle" in historic Congo Square, while the surrounding park fills with food stalls and an arts market. Families will find a dedicated kids tent and educational programming aimed at connecting younger festivalgoers with the rhythms that helped shape New Orleans music. Donations to support the Foundation’s year-round programs will be accepted at park entrances, as reported by New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.
Organizer and logistics
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is staging Congo Square Rhythms, with two stages of programming running from 10:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29. The festival takes place in Tremé’s Louis Armstrong Park at 701 N. Rampart Street and is free to attend, with donation boxes set up at most entrances. According to New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the weekend is powered by Cox Communications and includes both an arts market and a food market.
What's on the stages
Music will run all weekend on two stages, one in Congo Square and one on the Tremé side of the park, with each day anchored by traditional drum circles and African dance ensembles. The lineup mixes local favorites and out-of-town guests, including Cha Wa, New Breed Brass Band, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, the Charmaine Neville Band, Zigaboo Modeliste and Big Sam’s Funky Nation. A Mardi Gras Indian battle and several youth workshops are also on the schedule to spotlight community traditions, as listed by WWOZ.
Class Got Brass competition
The Class Got Brass competition brings Louisiana middle and high schools into the mix by challenging students to form New Orleans-style brass bands and step into a "second-line" parade judged by celebrity musicians and educators. More than $50,000 worth of instruments and supplies for winning school music programs is on the line, organizers say. The Foundation frames the contest as both a community celebration and a direct investment in music education for young players, according to New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.
Food, markets and kids' programming
The festival’s food market leans into the African diaspora’s influence on New Orleans cooking, with vendors expected to serve dishes like West African jollof rice, Caribbean-style oxtail stew and local staples such as gumbo and red beans. An arts market will showcase local makers and African-inspired textiles, while the Congo Square Kids Village offers hands-on crafts and instrument workshops designed for young attendees. Local tourism listings describe the weekend as a strong way to experience Tremé’s living cultural traditions while the city fills up with spring events, as noted by NewOrleans.com.
Hosts and local voices
The weekend’s onstage energy will be guided by singer-songwriter Kelly Love Jones alongside WGNO on-air personality LeBron "LBJ" Joseph. LBJ is a familiar presence for New Orleans audiences, with decades in regional TV and radio, and his long-running role in local media is highlighted in his WYLD-FM bio. The pair are expected to keep the programming rooted firmly in the city’s musical communities, as reported by WGNO and noted on WYLD-FM.
Why Congo Square matters
Holding the festival in Congo Square is no accident; it intentionally calls back to the site’s historic role as a gathering place where enslaved and free Black residents preserved African music, dance and spiritual practices that helped give rise to jazz. The weekend’s drum circles, Indian gatherings and youth programs are designed to make that cultural throughline visible and audible for a new generation of New Orleanians and visitors. For more historical context on Congo Square’s place in the city’s jazz neighborhoods, see the overview from the National Park Service.
