Festival International de Louisiane will celebrate an important anniversary in the spring. For the past 40 years, Lafayette's biggest festival has steadily expanded in size and reputation based on a foundational mission: connecting Louisiana's Francophone culture, and the region's diverse music, with the world.
Last week, the festival board of volunteers announced that it was starting a fundraiser to help offset the rising costs of booking international talent — bands hailing from places like Ukraine, France, Mexico, Jamaica and Canada, that define Festival's vibe and set the stage for its cultural and economic impact.
Dobet Gnahoré performs at Scene Lafayette as Festival International de Louisiane continues on Saturday, April 26, 2025, in downtown Lafayette.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD BOWIE
According to the , Festival International's budget for securing performers each year is $300,000. The fees associated with booking international acts, such as visa applications and tax withholding agreements with the IRS, have ballooned to roughly 30% of that budget. It's a cost that has become unsustainable in recent years — particularly since visa processing times are also longer, and more uncertain, than they've ever been.
It all adds up to a precarious and expensive dance for Festival International programming director Lisa Stafford, who is limited in the range of international acts she is able to host due to these conditions. And it's a concerning state of affairs for executive director Scott Feehan, who said, "we are not a normal festival that just puts music on a stage."
"We are the gateway for these bands to come to the United States, and we are the gateway for our talent to the world," Feehan said.
Scott Feehan, executive director of Festival International de Louisiane, speaks during a press conference to present the new Festival 40th Anniversary book Friday, October 31, 2025, at City Hall in Lafayette, La.
STAFF PHOTO BY LESLIE WESTBROOK
"As the largest international music and arts festival in the country, we're the most important stop for these bands. And as we've seen other festivals come and go — not just in the international music world, but in general — it's clear that it's pretty special what we have."
Feehan pointed out that the festival is also a premiere opportunity for the many Louisiana acts that share Festival's downtown Lafayette stages with global bands.
"Festival is like an international music exchange where bookers see this incredible talent, and they realize, 'oh my gosh, the talent in and around Acadiana is also incredible.' I can give thousands of examples of our artists being booked around the world. It's been extremely successful."
As a proven springboard for bringing global sounds to the United States, and Louisiana talent to the world, the goal of the fundraiser is to give Festival International a cushion for booking more international acts for next year's 40th anniversary celebration, taking place April 22 -26.
In the meantime, Stafford and Festival partners in Canada are working right now to develop a new program that will amplify opportunities for Louisiana and Acadian musicians at the 2026 event.
Strengthening international connections at Festival
"Connexion Acadie-Louisiane" will connect Louisiana French artists, and Acadian bands from Canada, with music industry professionals through "showcases," ensuring that Festival International remains a high-value stop for both bands and buyers, even with ongoing challenges and rising costs in the in the global booking market.
Advocate Photo by LEE CELANO - Lisa LeBlanc of New Brunswick performs on the second night of Festival International de Louisiane Thurs., April 23, 2015.
Carol Doucet, booking agent and director of the Le Grenier musique agency in Moncton, New Brunswick, is organizing Connexion Acadie-Louisiane with Festival International. She said the market will function similarly to the former Louisiana International Music Exchange, a professional showcase component of Festival International that ceased operating after 2019 due to lack of funding.
"I've always found that the market aspect of a public music festival is very, very important," said Doucet. "We'll have showcases just for the professionals, and a second event where the artists showcase at the festival with the public, so the buyers will be able to see them in a more intimate way, and then with a larger crowd."
While industry professionals already attend Festival International yearly and conduct business there, these showcases will be a platform for specifically highlighting Francophone bands to interested buyers.
The band Son De Madera from Mexico performs at Festival International, Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Downtown Lafayette.
Robin May
Doucet said that music showcases are easier to conduct across borders, as they only require that presenters obtain a B-1 visa for temporary business visitors, instead of the much more costly "P" visas for entertainers and touring groups, or the difficult-to-obtain O-1 visa for artists of "extraordinary ability."
As such, music markets can't address the festival's current international booking woes, but they do help build and maintain the international connections that musicians and industry movers value at Festival International.
Said Doucet, "the artists from Louisiana who will be showcasing, they will get the chance to play in front of buyers from the United States, but also Canada and Europe — so France, Belgium, Switzerland. When I try to sell a show to a certain festival, they may not always know the artist, but if we say they're good, they'll take them. And now, that festival can also come down in April and see the artist showcases for themselves."
Feehan said that this latest chapter in Festival International's 40 year history has reminded him not to take the experience for granted. It was "always here," he said — and it took traveling to other places to realize that Lafayette had built something unique.
"We have this incredibly unique and rich culture in the form of our music, food, and joie de vivre, that doesn't exist anywhere else," he said. "We are the vehicle to highlight that to the world. It's so important to nurture that, as we have for 40 years now."