The Ponderosa Stomp is an annual American roots music festival dedicated to "recognizing the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop and soul music." It was founded in New Orleans in 2002 and produced by the non-profit Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau (MK Charities, Inc & Ponderosa Stomp Foundation), a 501(c) 3 cultural organization dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of American roots music. The Festival now takes place in New Orleans in September of each year, having formerly been held in between two weekends of

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

. The first Festival was held at the Fine Arts Center in New Orleans' Garden District. The next three Festivals took place at the Mid City Rock n' Bowl. In 2006, it temporarily moved to

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

due to the effect of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. The Festival moved back to New Orleans the following year and was held at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...

in the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...

. The 2021 Stomp is being held in September at

the Howlin' Wolf The Howlin' Wolf is a 1,200 person capacity music venue located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Howlin' Wolf Den, adjoined to The Howlin' Wolf is a 120-person capacity performance space. The venues are used for concerts, comedy shows, events and ...

in New Orleans; since 2019, this festival has been on hiatus. The Festival was named after a song by

Lazy Lester Leslie Johnson (June 20, 1933 – August 22, 2018), better known as Lazy Lester, was an American blues musician who sang and played the harmonica and guitar. In a career spanning the 1950s to 2018, he pioneered swamp blues, and also played h ...

who also has appeared at the Festival.Lazy Lester Biography
/ref> The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation organizes varied programming, ranging from music education initiatives in public schools and museums to the signature annual concert event, The Ponderosa Stomp. It is a project of MK Charities, Inc. a 501(c) (3), non-profit educational organization.

References

External links

Ponderosa Stomp Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponderosa Stomp Music festivals in Tennessee Music festivals in Louisiana Tourist attractions in New Orleans Folk festivals in the United States Blues festivals in the United States Country music festivals in the United States Jazz festivals in Louisiana Festivals in New Orleans