This year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival poster depicts New Orleans’ No. 1 son Louis Armstrong at the helm of the St. Charles streetcar, celebrating what would be his 125th birthday year.
The immortal jazz maestro is accompanied by contemporary greats Trombone Shorty, Jon Batiste and brass band stalwarts Benny Jones and the late “Uncle” Lionel.
The streetcar is centered in an absolutely symmetrical composition, dominated by a soothing, twilit, green hue.
The poster is a masterpiece of subtlety. Artist Paul Rogers has provided a silky slide to the land of dreamy dreams for sure, a visit to a wonderful world, you might say.
And his fourth Jazz Fest poster — he produced poster designs in 2002, 2004 and 2016 too — will certainly be appreciated by most souvenir print purchasers.
Undeniably, Rogers’ Jazz Fest 2026 poster is utterly excellent in composition, color and style. It will be a handsome addition to any shotgun house or restaurant décor.
But one could argue that a nighttime Uptown streetcar ride is the opposite of the sweaty, bubbling, blaring, springtime, musical blowout we so love.
The design was unveiled Thursday along with the full musical line-up. Posters are $89 to $1,250. Available in advance from art4now.com
