Graphic: When Festival Booking Goes Too Far

Garland Robinette

Yes, this is the real Jazz Fest 2011 poster, and that's really Jimmy Buffett.

​Every spring, New Orleans puts on something called the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. But as Jazz Fest has grown more and more popular, the headlining acts have had less and less to do with jazz or New Orleans heritage; this year, headliners include Kid Rock, Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett and, of course, recent Album of the Year winners Arcade Fire.

Inviting artists like that to your Jazz & Heritage Festival is sort of like holding something called the Ragtime and Bonzo Skiffle-palooza and inviting Metallica. It just doesn't gel. Which led us to imagine: what if other well-known music festivals invited acts that didn't quite fit their theme?

Why, it might look something like...

Photo illustrations by John Seaborn Gray/click images to enlarge

​American Folk Festival: Much like the Jazz & Heritage Festival, this year's American Folk Festival will be featuring just about everything but folk music, although we hear Iron Maiden's Dave Murray plays a mean banjo.