Shortly before 4:00pm, officials at the Who Dat Nation Rally and Music Festival announced they were shutting down the event due to extreme heat.
Crews walked through the festival alerting everyone that due to the high temperatures and heat index, it was not safe to continue the event.
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory until 7:00pm.
• TEMPERATURE...Highs in mid to upper 90s with heat indices of 105 to 110 degrees.• DURATION...5 to 7 hours.• IMPACTS...High heat index values will cause an increased risk of heat-related illnesses including heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
The festival was scheduled to continue until 9:00pm with performers including:
Cowboy Mouth4:30-5:30George Porter Jr. & Runnin Pardners6:30-7:30New Power Generation – Celebrates PRINCE7:45-9:00Event organizer Steve Monistere said, "The heat index was rising to 115."
As a result, he said, Jefferson Parish Emergency Management told organizers to shut it down.
"They did the right thing," he added.
Monistere explained that anyone with a ticket to the festival could go into the Jefferson Parish Performing Arts Center to see Blood, Sweat and Tears at no additional charge as long as seats were still available.