New Orleans, LA (February 6, 2009)— American rock superstars Bon Jovi have been added to the already star-studded music lineup of the 40th anniversary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Presented by Shell, organizers announced today. Making their first-ever Jazz Fest appearance, Bon Jovi will perform on Saturday, May 2. The 2009 Jazz Fest is scheduled for April 24-26 & April 30-May 3 at the Fair Grounds Race Course. (For more information on Bon Jovi, visit http://www.bonjovi.com/.)

Bon Jovi joins Wynton Marsalis, Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Sugarland, Joe Cocker, Ben Harper, Tony Bennett, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kings of Leon, Neville Brothers, Wilco, Bonnie Raitt, Allen Toussaint, The O’Jays, Erykah Badu, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Dr. John plus hundreds of others previously announced to appear at the historic edition of the Festival.
Jazz Fest noted that Julian Marley has been added to the Festival on Friday, May 1. Toots & the Maytals, previously announced for the 2009 event, will not be appearing.

The Festival also released the much-coveted, day-specific information for each confirmed artist.
The Festival announced that the hugely popular discount weekend ticket package opportunity will expire at the end of business on Wednesday, February 18. For the first time ever, the Festival has been offering discount ticket packages to each day of a particular weekend. Ticket packages purchased for all three days of the first weekend (April 24, 25 & 26) will be $105, while second weekend packages purchased for all four festival days (April 30, May 1, 2 & 3) will be $140. (Tickets included in each package are day-specific.) Advance single day Jazz Fest tickets are still only $40 with the gate price of $50. Children’s tickets (ages 2 - 11) are only $5 in advance or at the gate. Single day tickets to Jazz Fest are on sale by specific weekend, with each ticket valid for a single day’s attendance.Tickets for the Festival, which takes place at the Fair Grounds Race Course are on-sale through all Ticketmaster outlets.

The Festival’s popular Big Chief VIP Experience ticket package and the Grand Marshal VIP Pass return for the 40th anniversary celebration, as well as the newly unveiled Krewe of Jazz Fest VIP Pass that allows for special covered seating at the Acura Stage audience area plus other amenities. All the hugely popular VIP packages are on sale now while very limited supplies last.
Tickets are available at http://www.nojazzfest.com/ and http://www.ticketmaster.com/, at all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling (800) 745-3000. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Jazz Fest ticket office located at the Louisiana Superdome Box Office (Gate A, Ground Level) or the New Orleans Arena Box Office. All Jazz Fest tickets are subject to additional service fees and handling charges.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation presents the 2009 Gala on Thursday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m. Annually selling out, this year’s gala event will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel and spotlight the famed New Orleans music venue The Dew Drop Inn. Performing as part of the “The Dew Drop Inn Revisited All-Stars” will be Allen Toussaint, Eddie Bo, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, Robert Parker, and Wanda Rouzan along with The N'Awlins All-Stars. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue and the TBC Brass Band are also scheduled to perform at the event. Tickets are available by calling (504) 410-4148.
A listing of hotels offering special Jazz Fest rates is posted at http://www.nojazzfest.com/, where patrons can effortlessly reserve their hotel rooms for the event. Festivalgoers can peruse room availability and book their accommodations early taking advantage of some of the best prices offered at participating hotels.

Shell is the Presenting Sponsor of the Festival. Acura is proudly celebrating its 10th year as sponsor of the Festival’s main stage. Peoples Health, Miller Lite, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, AT&T, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots (A Churchill Downs Company), Edison Chouest Offshore, Capital One Bank, Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Pepsi, Rajen Kilachand and St. Charles Vision are all also official Jazz Fest sponsors.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that owns the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, and uses the proceeds from that festival for year-round activities in the areas of education, economic development and cultural programming. Programs and assets of the foundation include: radio station WWOZ 90.7-FM, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive, the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, the Tom Dent Congo Square Lecture Series, the Jazz Journey concert series, the Community Partnership Grants program and the Raisin’ the Roof housing initiative. The foundation also produces community events such as the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, Fiesta Latina, the Congo Square Rhythms Festival, the Down by the Riverside concerts and others. For more information, please call the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation at (504) 558-6100 or visit http://www.jazzandheritage.org/.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell is a co-production of Festival Productions, L.L.C. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Festival Productions, Inc.-New Orleans) and AEG Louisiana Production, L.L.C. (a subsidiary of AEG Live).

I am so excited I could pee myself! Anyone wanna go to New Orleans with me?

Wait till a tour is announced. I get worse. LOL

Then again can you blame me? Look at that man. Oh and then there is the fantastic music too!

Lawdy. I have issues.