Jazz Fest producer Quint Davis on booking some of the biggest names in music and his thoughts on a third festival weekend

What does it take to book the Rolling Stones? A lot of patience and persistence according to Quint Davis. He’s the producer of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and has been pursuing the Rolling Stones for quite some time. Every year, over two weekends in the spring, the New Orleans Fairgrounds is transformed from a venue for horse racing to one of the biggest music festivals in the world. “Jazz Fest” is nearing its 55th anniversary. Throughout the decades, musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Stevie Wonder have been marquee acts. Quint Davis has been at the center of it all. Ahead of the first weekend of this year’s festival, I sat down with Davis to get to know the man behind all the music. From dropping out of college to his friendship with a late 60 Minutes correspondent, Davis gives us a glimpse of a life that even he didn’t quite expect.