16-05-2025
After permit dispute, Bayou Boogaloo returns for 2025
Bayou Boogaloo will return to Bayou St. John this weekend, filling the waterway and the neighborhood with eager local music fans.
Why it matters: Until last week, the festival's return wasn't a sure thing.
Catch up quick: Bayou Boogaloo was founded in 2005 as a fundraiser to support maintenance along the Mid-City waterway.
But for years, organizers and local leaders have fielded complaints from some who live near the event's location along Bayou St. John.
Those complaints tend to focus on parking issues, the fencing the festival installs for its event weekend, and trash buildup in the neighborhood.
By this year's event, Councilman Joe Giarrusso told The Times-Picayune, he's gotten "more parking and ticketing complaints from Bayou Boogaloo than Jazz Fest."
The intrigue: A hold had been placed on the annual event's permit as neighbors and event organizers hashed out plans to address safety and neighborhood concerns, according to a statement released by Giarrusso on May 9.
"No decision with Bayou Boogaloo happened overnight or in a vacuum," Giarrusso said. "We have met and talked with the festival and neighbors for years."
State of play: With the permit approved for 2025's festival, the location of future Bayou Boogaloo events is still murky.
"Given the ongoing conversations, there will be a meeting this summer for anyone interested in discussing the festival," Giarrusso said in a statement.
If you go: The game is on for this weekend's event, May 16-18. Tickets.
The fest includes music spread across three stages with headliners Honey Island Swamp Band, Big Freedia, and 420 Funk Mob ft. members of Parliament Funkadelic.
Vendors hawking food, drinks, and arts and crafts will be there, too.
And don't forget your kayaks or giant pool floaties. Attendees can catch the tunes — and the breeze — from the bayou. Boating rules.
