NEW ORLEANS – The School of Music and Theatre Professions at Loyola University New Orleans has partnered with the French Quarter Festival to sponsor the Esplanade in the Shade Stage at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint for the second year in a row.
“The partnership allows a number of talented Loyola students to perform at one of the most visited festivals in the world,” said Jonathan McHugh, the Hilton-Baldridge Eminent Scholar/Chair in Music Industry Studies at Loyola. “The festival, which takes place April 11-14, also hires a number of Loyola students to work behind the scenes at festival.”
“To be able to offer these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to our students is what our Loyola program is all about,” continued McHugh. “As New Orleans is truly the live music center of the universe, our goal is to make sure students have the chance to perform on as many stages as possible and learn what it takes to put on a festival of this caliber.”
McHugh and Kate Duncan, director of the School of Music and Theatre Professions and the Conrad N. Hilton Chair in Music Industry at Loyola, worked with Emily Madero, president and CEO of French Quarter Festivals, Inc., to create the partnership between Loyola and the festival.
“We’re proud of our partnership with Loyola and excited to see this high-impact collaboration expand to feature world-class Loyola talent – both performing on a major festival stage and joining our crew behind the scenes to produce and promote French Quarter Festival 2024,” said Madero.
Duncan said she is excited to work with amazing community partners such as French Quarter Fest that offer unmatched opportunities to Loyola students.
“This collaboration provides students with real world, experiential learning spaces, where they have the opportunity to start their professional lives while still in college with us,” said Duncan. “Students are truly seeing all of the facets and skill sets that need to come together in order to build a life around their creative ideas.”
The Esplanade in the Shade Stage will offer programming Friday through Sunday, with musicians from Loyola performing four sets throughout the weekend:
- Friday, April 12, from 12:20-1:35 p.m. – Loyola Alternative Set, with Kissing Disease; D.P.M Javi, featuring Ben Delgado; and, Planet of Little Green Men
- Saturday, April 13, from 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Loyola University Contemporary Ensembles
- Saturday, April 13, from 12:35 to 1:55 p.m. – Jazz/R&B Set, with Read the Room featuring Rene, Aaniyah and Noa Jamir
- Sunday, April 14, from 12:20 to 1:35 p.m. – Loyola Hip Hop Set, with Dami, Abstract and flow mvnny; and, DJs Sleepyhead and Deven
Other musicians performing on the Esplanade in the Shade Stage are Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Iceman Special, Creole String Beans and Astral Project. Overall, more than 300 performances will take place on 21 music stages during the four-day festival.
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