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The Natchez Balloon Festival is excited to announce the music line-up for 2023, the 38^th year of the annual event.

The festival kicks off on Friday, Oct. 20, with Bag of Donuts, an amazing superpop cover band from New Orleans with a flair for kabuki make-up and extravagant costumes.

Local rockers Elanore Swede will open the festival on Saturday, Oct. 22, followed by Kevin and the Blues Groovers, a mix of soulful singing and dazzling blues piano.

Next on the line-up is Rumours, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band that you’ll swear is the real deal.  After that is The Suffers, a Gulf Coast soul band from Houston, Texas, that brings elements of classic American Soul and rock and roll to crowds that love to dance.  The headliner will be Sister Hazel, the longtime southern and alternative rock band known for their smash hit “All for You.”

The festival will take place Oct. 20-21 at the Bicentennial Garden on the grounds of historic Rosalie Mansion. Online tickets are on sale now at www.natchezballoonfestival.com. Tickets also are on sale now at the Historic Natchez Foundation,.  Weekend passes are $35, Friday tickets are $15, and Saturday tickets are $30.  Children 10 and under are free.

The Natchez Balloon Festival, established in 1986, is a weekend of hot air balloons and outstanding live music that has become the longest running festival in Southwest Mississippi.  Sponsors include Visit Natchez, United Mississippi Bank, Magnolia Bluffs Casino and Hotel, Budweiser/Southwest Distributors, Coca-Cola, Scott Petroleum, Listen Up Y’all Media, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Holiday Inn Express & Suites.  A full list of all sponsors is available on the Natchez Balloon Festival website at www.natchezballoonfestival.com