The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival originally consisted of two components: the “Louisiana Heritage Fair,” which referred to the daytime music stages, food booths, craft displays, and cultural demos; and the “New Orleans Jazz Festival,” representing evening concerts at venues like the Municipal Auditorium and on riverboats such as the Steamer President.
The night concerts ranged from traditional jazz and contemporary jazz to rhythm & blues and soul, and from New Orleans heroes to renowned, internationally known superstars.
During the early and mid-1970s, nighttime Jazz Fest riverboat concerts originally and exclusively highlighted traditional New Orleans jazz. By the end of the decade, these Mississippi River cruise shows expanded to feature other genres.