Festival Circuit

About Festival Circuit

A narrative series focusing on the history and impact of festivals and cities around the world. The first season focuses on the music of New Orleans and the annual jazz festival. This five-part series explores the history of music in the city, the creation and evolution of the jazz festival, and the lasting appeal of New Orleans music. Included are interviews with Ivan Neville, George Porter, Jr., Irma Thomas, Anders Osborne, Ben Jaffe, Papa Mali and dozens of other musicians, writers, academics and music fans.

Publisher

Osiris Media

Category

music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

30 Jun 2020

Latest episode

15 May 2026

Latest episodes

8 of 21 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   15 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   E5: A New Day (re-release)

   Host Rob Steinberg interviews Tank from Tank and the Bangas about the future of live music and the evolving jazz fest industry.

2. 

   13 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   E4: From The President to Frenchmen Street (re-release)

   Host Rob Steinberg interviews George Porter, Papa Mali, Robert Walter, and Irma Thomas about New Orleans' vibrant late-night jazz fest music scene and its evolving cultural landmarks.

3. 

   11 May 2026TRANSCRIPT

   E3: At the Fairgrounds (re-release)

   Welcome back to Festival Circuit: New Orleans. In episode 3, we’re going to jazz fest! We’ll look at how the festival started, hear from interviewees about standout performances, talk about the evolution of the festival itself, and of course, talk a bit about jazz fest food. We spend some time in the Gospel Tent, dance with Mardi Gras Indians, and look at the explosive growth of the festival over the past 20 years. And of course, there’s plenty of music. This would have been the 51st jazz fest, and we all wish we could have been there. But this tribute to the festival and to New Orleans music helps us all feel a little more connected to live music and to this event that is truly one of a kind. Festival Circuit is presented by Osiris Media. This series is Narrated and Produced by Rob Steinberg. Executive Producers are Christina Collins, Andrew Goodwin and RJ Bee, who also double duties as series writer and creator. Produced, Edited and Mixed by Matt Dwyer. Show logo by Liz Bee. The theme song is “JazzFest Time,” by Circus Mind. To check out more shows that help deepen the connection to music you love, please visit OsirisPod.com.

Inside a recent episode

E5: A New Day (re-release)

Published 15 May 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And as lovers of live music, most of us haven't seen a show in months, and it may be several more months or maybe longer until we can see one again. All of the artists that we talk to are itching to get back out there. Here's Irma Thomas. When we were working, it wasn't a job to us. It was fun for us. And I still feel that way about it. It's a job, yeah, and you're expected to do certain things, but... When you get up on that stage and you have that rapport with your audience, it's not work anymore. And all of the jobs, past, present, and hopefully in the future, that I keep that kind of rapport with my audience. […]

Who has been a guest on Festival Circuit

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Tank
• George Porter
• Papa Mali
• Robert Walter
• Irma Thomas

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.7 / 5

111 ratings

Contact Festival Circuit

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Festival Circuit