Arcade Fire to headline AT&T Block Party as part of 2022 NCAA March Madness Music Festival in New Orleans April 1-3

GRAMMY-Winning Band To Perform Songs From Newly Announced Album “WE”; Opening Lineup To Include New Orleans’ Own Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and DJ Rusty Lazer

On Friday, April 1, Arcade Fire has been confirmed to headline the AT&T Block Party as part of the 2022 NCAA March Madness Music Festival in New Orleans. The three-day Music Festival (April 1-3), held at Woldenberg Park in New Orleans, will provide fans with star-studded entertainment during Men’s Final Four weekend.

Formed in Montreal and currently operating out of New Orleans, Arcade Fire has long maintained a well-earned reputation as one of the best live bands in the world. “The Lightning I, II,” the first single from the band’s eagerly anticipated new album “WE”, was just released to a rapturous reception from fans and critics alike, with The New York Times raving “Arcade Fire ignites a fresh era…burning once again with an earnest, fiery hope.” Arcade Fire’s AT&T Block Party performance promises to feature a first look and listen to tracks from the upcoming “WE” alongside classics from the band’s GRAMMY winning catalog.

Friday night’s AT&T Block Party will also feature New Orleans natives Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and DJ Rusty Lazer.

Opening for Arcade Fire is the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band, whose music can be heard throughout the French Quarter and is considered the ‘soundtrack of the city’, bringing sounds and culture from around the world together in New Orleans.

“It’s always a thrill and good time when the NCAA Men’s Final Four comes to New Orleans.  For us, there’s nothing quite like the joy of sharing our music in our hometown. Everyone’s a winner,” said Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Fans in New Orleans can register for free passes to the AT&T Block Party beginning today at 11 a.m. E.T.

Fans tuning in from home or on the go can catch the performances on att.com/5Gfanzone, where the livestream will include the interactive AT&T 5G Concert Lens. Using AT&T 5G powered devices, this feature will broadcast multiple camera angles simultaneously, allowing fans to select the vantage point from which they’ll watch the show. The concert will also be streamed on @ATT as well as the NCAA app.

In support of New Orleans and the recent tornados that hit the community, Arcade Fire and AT&T will each donate $25,000 through SPB to assist in rebuilding the city and the homes of the victims of the devastating natural disaster. Text SBP at 501501 to make a one-time $20 donation to support SBP.

For more details about the weekend, fans can stay up-to-date by visiting ncaa.com/marchmadness/musicfest following @MFinalFour on Twitter, or downloading the Men’s Final Four app presented by AT&T. Follow @ATT for surprise guests, behind-the-scenes access and more throughout the weekend!

As previously announced, Khalid will headline Infinite Sounds by Coca-Cola Starlight on Saturday, April 2, and Imagine Dragons will headline the Capital One JamFest on Sunday, April 3. Capital One cardholders will get exclusive early access to free tickets for Capital One JamFest starting today through Tuesday, March 22, at 11:59 p.m. ET or as supplies last. Registration for the general public will go live on Wednesday, March 23, at 10 a.m. ET.

The full NCAA March Madness Music Festival schedule is below:

Friday, April 1 – AT&T Block Party

• Performances from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m local time
• Arcade Fire
• Preservation Hall Jazz Band
• DJ Rusty Lazer

Saturday, April 2 – Infinite Sounds by Coca-Cola Starlight

• Performances from 2:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time
• Khalid
• The Kid Laroi
• BIA
• Lucky Daye

Sunday, April 3 – Capital One JamFest^®

* Capital One debit or credit cardholders*get early access to tickets beginning Mar. 21; general access begins Mar. 23.

• Performances from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time
• Imagine Dragons
• Macklemore
• Grouplove
• Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue

* Private label cards excluded

Specific media event credentials will be issued for Friday, Saturday and Sunday (April 1-3) at Woldenberg Park.  Men’s Final Four game credentials will not be accepted.

All Men’s Final Four events will adhere to the local city guidelines with regards to health and safety. For up-to-date information on health guidelines, go to  https://ready.nola.gov/incident/coronavirus/safe-reopening/. For security policies at fan events and venues, click here.

The NCAA March Madness Music Festival is an activation extension of the NCAA’s Corporate Champions and Partners marketing program, which Turner Sports and CBS Sports license and collaborate on as part of an agreement with the NCAA.

TBS will televise the Division I Men’s Final Four, beginning with the Division I Men’s National Semifinals on Saturday, April 2, and then the Division I Men’s National Championship on Monday, April 4, from New Orleans. This marks the sixth time that New Orleans will host the Final Four and the first time since 2012.

About Arcade Fire

Emerging from Montreal, Canada in the early 2000s, Arcade Fire quickly earned a reputation for transcendent live shows that brought arena-size ambition to stages of all sizes. By the close of the tour supporting its 2004 debut album Funeral—widely hailed as one of the best and most important albums of the 2000s —Arcade Fire’s live experience was already raising thousands of voices in ecstatic unison nightly—while the band found itself sharing stages with the likes of U2 and David Bowie.

Titled in tribute to the memories of family members, Funeral’s cathartic confrontation of tragedy and life-affirming celebration of love, hope and band members’ Haitian roots has only grown in stature over the years. The album has been named the #1 album of the ‘00s by Rolling Stone, and has topped Best of the Decade lists around the world including NME, Q, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Mojo, Spin, Consequence, Paste and more. Subsequent Arcade Fire albums Neon Bible, The Suburbs, Reflektor and Everything Now have earned the band three #1 albums worldwide, nine GRAMMY nominations (including a 2011 Album of the Year win for The Suburbs), four Juno awards (including three for Album of the Year), a BRIT Best International Album award, as well as an Academy Award nomination for the original score to the feature film HER.

“WE”, the sixth Arcade Fire album is made up of seven songs that speak to this moment with unique directness. Written, recorded, and released during a critical historical juncture, they are divided into two distinct sides, “I” and “WE.” If the “I” side of the record evokes and embodies our holed-up anxiety and lack of physical connection, the “WE” side captures the excitement of new possibilities and the elevating thrill of committing to one another socially and personally. Produced by Nigel Godrich, Win & Régine, “WE” is a 40 minute epic as much about the forces that threaten to pull us away from the people we love, as it is inspired by the urgent need to overcome them.

About Preservation Hall Jazz Band

At a moment when musical streams are crossing with unprecedented frequency, it’s crucial to remember that throughout its history, New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle, and resurface, transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 50 years, all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history.

PHJB marches that tradition forward once again on So It Is, the septet’s second release featuring all-new original music. The album redefines what New Orleans music means today by tapping into a sonic continuum that stretches back to the city’s Afro-Cuban roots, through its common ancestry with the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the Fire Music of Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane, and forward to cutting-edge artists with whom the PHJB have shared festival stages from Coachella to Newport, including legends like Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello and the Grateful Dead and modern giants like My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire and the Black Keys.

About DJ Rusty Lazer

Rusty Lazer is a DJ, Producer, Artist Manager and Non-Profit founder who has called New Orleans home since before 2000, when he arrived with just his drums and a lifetime of playing every kind of music he could find. In the upheaval after Katrina, he transitioned from drumming in five bands to playing alone as a DJ, and soon after he began touring with and managing Bounce Music legends Big Freedia and Nicky Da B. His sets are “a sweaty, mega-mix crash course in the sound of New Orleans”, and travel from the songs of his adopted city out into genres beyond generational and geographical limits. In addition to his work as an artist, he co-founded New Orleans Airlift in 2008 and joined in the creation of its flagship project, Music Box Village, where he continues to work today to create opportunities for New Orleans artists to engage with the world through collaboration and exchange.

About Turner Sports

Turner Sports, a division of WarnerMedia, is an industry leader in the delivery of premium sports content across all platforms, widely recognized for its expansive partnerships with the NBA, Major League Baseball, NCAA and National Hockey League. The Turner Sports portfolio also includes Bleacher Report, the #1 digital destination for young sports fans driving engagement and video views across all social platforms and the B/R app, with premier brands including House of Highlights, HighlightHER, B/R Football, B/R Gridiron, B/R Kicks, B/R Betting, B/R Open Ice, B/R Walk-Off, and B/R Gaming. Turner Sports co-manages NBA Digital – comprised of NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE Pass, the NBA App and NBAGLEAGUE.com – as well as NCAA.com and the NCAA March Madness Live suite of products. Visit the Turner Sports online pressroom for additional press materials; follow Turner Sports on Twitter at @TurnerSportsPR.

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and fairness to create greater opportunities for nearly half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in NCAA championships each year. Visit ncaa.org and ncaa.com for more details about the Association and the corporate partnerships that support the NCAA and its student-athletes.

About AT&T Communications

We help family, friends and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. AT&T Communications is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). For more information, please visit us at att.com.