Nowhere is the idea of New Orleans and its mingling of cultures from around the world more vividly embodied than the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 60 years. All the while, they carry it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band marches Crescent City tradition forward in their brilliant stage performances. The group 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. The band has spread their hometown’s iconic sound to festival stages from Coachella to Newport, performing among peers and legends like Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, and the Grateful Dead, as well as modern giants like Beck, The Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket and the Black Keys. The Charleston Jazz Festival is sponsored in part by MUSC.