w Orleans hosted its first ever inaugural Voodoo Music and Arts Experience at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park. Back then, the in-advance tickets went for $19 and tickets at the gate sold for $23. It was a one-day affair that featured 20 headliners, including Wyclef Jean, The Roots and Moby.
Voodoo saw significant growth the follow-up year and has been growing ever since.
In 2000, Voodoo made big changes. They relocated from Tad Gormley Stadium to Scout Island and Marconi Meadow in City Park and expanded into a two-day event. That same year, Voodoo drew in a crowd of an estimated 60,000 people, six times the attendance of the previous year.
It wasn’t until 2007 that the festival became a three-day event and broke all former records of attendance with an estimated 100,000 fans showing up to take part in
the festivities.
The 2014 festival marked a different kind of growth, as Forbes.com reported it was the first time the demand prompted for an “active secondary market” for ticket sales, where demand grew so high that tickets were regularly obtained from ticket holders, rather than the
venue itself.
Over the last two decades, over one million people, including international fans, have gathered to see performances from about 2,000 artists.
Voodoo’s growth has prompted an evolution. One innovation Voodoo hopes to make to the experience is what they call its “cashless system.”
Sig Greenbaum, festival co-organizer, explained details about the cashless system.
“This new system allows festival goers to safely and temporarily register their credit cards to their wristbands to pay,” Greenbaum said. “Each person is given a four digit access code that only they know, and it is entered into an iPad to verify transactions. The receipt is emailed to you after every purchase, and since your name is registered with your wristband, it is secure. It works much like Apple Pay.”
Other than the cashless system, Greenbaum said that the festival will also host two new experiences for fans to enjoy: Brew Dat and the Mortuary Fright Zone.
“Brew Dat aims to bring the sports bar experience to the festival, with 10 to 15 craft and sports beers locally and out of state. It will also host games, such as cornhole and ping pong, that attendees can play while catching up on the score of whichever team is playing at that time, and showing, of course, the Saints game screening on Sunday,” Greenbaum said.
After the Mortuary sponsored an event in 2007, festival organizers decided to work with them to bring back an even larger installation. The fright zone is an interactive event that Voodoo Fest says will feature characters, multiple photo opportunities and much more.
“We hope to bring the spirit of Halloween to the next level with this installment,” Greenbaum said.
A lodging feature on the festival’s website allows those from out of town to find and book local places to stay during the festivities that accommodate their needs.
“Our lodging solutions feature was made available when the early-bird ticket sales began, and it’s now completely sold out. Almost every hotel in New Orleans is booked up for Halloween weekend; you’d have a tough time getting a room anywhere in the city,” Greenbaum revealed.
This year, Voodoo will present 67 acts both nationally and locally acclaimed, including Arcade Fire, the Chainsmokers and the Weeknd. Voodoo expects this year’s festival to have the biggest turnout yet.
