The free Mardi Gras, part of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, launches the season of Edinburgh's Festivals with the sounds of New Orleans and trad styled jazz, with some funk and soul thrown in for good measure.
In the past, the Jazz Festival's opening weekend event started with a Parade which saw performers dance from City Chambers, down Victoria Street, to the Old Town bars and cafes of the Grassmarket.
The streets are still busy for the trad jazz flavoured sounds from the various stages, but the Mardi Gras is now more of a warm-up for the following day's Edinburgh Carnival, which includes Parades, music and dance in West Princes Street Gardens.
Mardi Gras 2024 performers lined up are:
- West End Stage (opposite The Black Bull): Jazz Rebels and Viper Swing.
- Centre Stage (opposite Mamma's Pizza): Cow Boy Boogie and Rigid Soul.
- East End Stage (opposite The Last Drop): Dopesickfly and Carter & The Killer-Horns
Mardi Gras didn't happen in 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic restrictions.