The 2022 Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo, presented by Friends of Bayou St. John, will make its return to the banks of Bayou St. John next weekend, May 20, 21 and 22.

The three-day festival features music on three stages, including a new stage on the bayou. The debut of the new floating Brass Barge stage is one of an array of changes for the festival’s 16th year.  The barge stage will feature a lineup of brass bands.

Bayou Boogaloo will be using RFID (radio frequency identification) wristbands for the first time in 2022. The wristbands have a chip that’s used to get into the festival and to buy food and drinks once you’re inside.

The festival appears to be transitioning to a cashless event. No cash will be accepted at the Dumaine or Lafitte gates.  Only the box offices at the Orleans Avenue entrance will take cash for entry tickets. To avoid long lines at the box office, music fans are encouraged to buy tickets online.

Cash will not get you a drink at Bayou Boogaloo either. The beverage outlets will only take credit cards and the digital payments.

You can trade cash for RFID wristbands at two locations at the festival. And if you need cash to do that, there will be four ATMs.

The food and art vendors, however, will likely take cash or credit — it’s up to the individual vendors.

Boats are a signature feature the festival. From the start, music lovers have enjoyed the bands from kayaks, canoes, barges, blow-up flamingoes and a wide assortment of inflatables.

This year, everyone who enters Bayou Boogaloo must have a ticket — including those who come in on the bayou. There will be two bayou entrances, one at Dumaine and one at Toulouse, for people with boats, barges and other watercraft. All attendees — both on and off land — must pass through metal detectors.

Attendees with large barges and homemade rafts have to pre-register their barges, pay a $150 refundable security deposit and sign up for a time to assemble their barges ahead of the festival for easier and quicker entry. Email info@bayoustjohn.org to register.

Swimming is not allowed in the bayou due to wildlife — including alligators — and sharp, dangerous debris that lives at the bottom. There are no life guards on duty.

More rules and regulations for festival marine life can be found here.

In March, the Bayou Boogaloo released its full lineup featuring Ani DiFranco, Dragon Smoke, Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Soul Rebels, Sonny Landreth and Maggie Koerner.

The festival has recently announced three additions: Inferno Burlesque, Joshua Starkman and Friends featuring Gabrielle Cavassa and Sabine McCalla, and the Chosen Ones Brass Band — L.B. Landry High School’s brass band and the 2022 winners of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation’s “Class Got Brass” competition.

The Inferno Burlesque performance will be a first for both the Inferno and Bayou Boogaloo. It’s a festival debut for the New Orleans-based troupe featuring burlesque, variety and drag acts from across the nation, and it’s a burlesque show debut for the festival.

The 2022 day-by-day lineup can be found here, and the cubes showing times and stages are here. 

In addition to festival favorites like Clesi’s and Mid-City Pizza, Bayou Boogaloo welcomes several new vendors. Brand new this year is Soulé Cafe, a Mid-City neighborhood spot that will offer gluten free and vegan spins on New Orleans classics like Meatless Red Beans and Rice, Beignet Fries and Bread Pudding Bites.

New restaurant Jamaican Jerk House is also joining the festivities, serving Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Pork and Oxtails. Gourmet hot dog spot Dat Dog will make its Bayou Boogaloo debut, along with Bub’s Burgers, the hit pop-up that recently moved into a brick-and-mortar storefront on Banks Street.

For the first time, there will also be food trucks on the Dumaine Street side of the festival, including Da Grill Master and Southerns, serving its famous fried chicken sandwich.

A full list of vendors can be found here.  

The festival offers an area for kids to enjoy with three full days of programming. From drumming workshops to dance performances, festival organizers promise something for every age and taste. The weekend will kick off with the return of the Silent Disco with DJ Tom Harvey on Friday night.

Children can also partake in activities at the Arts and Crafts tent. The festival invites children to come get creative and join Upturn Arts on Saturday and Art Camp504 on Sunday beginning at noon for fun activities, take-home accessories and a group mural.

Nurse Nikki will also be returning to host the Baby Changing and Feeding Tent — a comfortable, shady space for tending to the little ones.

Swan River Yoga will host a yoga class on Sunday morning from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the Dumaine Stage followed by Sound Bath with Michelle Baker. Additionally, there will be a family yoga class on Saturday at noon in the kids tent. The yearly yoga classes are Bayou Boogaloo tradition, providing a tranquil and relaxing way to start off the day.

Finally making its full-fledged return for the first time since 2019, this year’s Bayou Boogaloo will feature a curated arts market with 60 artists and designers. Featuring locally handmade artwork by regional favorites, the arts market will include metalwork, glass, photography, ceramics and more.

This year, the commemorative poster was designed by Louisiana native and self-taught artist Kelly Boyett. With a speciality in live-painting performances, Boyett started this year’s poster as a live painting at the 2019 Bayou Boogaloo. The original will be auctioned off at this year’s festival.

Three-day General Admission weekend tickets with in and out privileges are available for $45 and will increase to $55 on May 15.

Single-day Saturday and Sunday tickets are also available for $20 but will increase to $30 on May 15. Single-day Friday tickets are available for $10 but will increase to $15 on May 15. Tickets can be purchased here.

Returning this year are three-day Canopy Club VIP passes, for $240. Canopy Club passes allow the holder festival entry as well as access to the Canopy Club VIP Lounge, a shaded oasis next to the stage with comfy seating, restrooms, a complimentary bar and catering. Canopy Club passes available here.

Friends of Bayou St. John

Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo was founded in 2005 and is produced by The Friends of Bayou St. John, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving and preserving the Bayou St. John neighborhood. Funds raised through Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo events are used to preserve and protect Bayou St. John and its canopy of trees. Some of the recent projects undertaken by Friends of Bayou St. John include: monthly bayou clean-ups, ongoing litter abatement and Christmas tree immersion to create habitats for fish. Currently Friends of Bayou St. John is financing a feasibility study by a landscape architecture company to reinvigorate the infrastructure on Bayou St. John.

Preventative health measures (e.g. proof of negative COVID-19 test or COVID-19 vaccination, masks) may be required for entry to Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo. Details of any necessary measures will be communicated as early as possible and will be shared on the event website and social media channels, per the city of New Orleans.

Need some relief? Mid-City will host 238 public port-o-let locations this weekend as the Endymion parade makes its way through the city. Most of the public potties are placed on the neutral ground along the parade route, though they vary in number.

By Claire Byun cbyun@nolamessenger.com Now that Mardi Gras celebrations have come and gone, the New Orleans Museum of Art invites you to experience the sights and sounds of Indian culture.

Does anyone know if the $20 tickets that you buy in advance for day entry at Bayou Boogaloo enable a person to come and go? Or must they stay within the festival, precluding exit and re-entry? Thanks.

Only the weekend passes allow re-entry. The daily tickets do not, according to the FAQ section of the Bayou Boogaloo website.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *