10 editor picks in New Orleans.
10 live music in New Orleans our editors have drunk at, sorted by score. All New Orleans nightlife.
Preservation Hall on St Peter Street has run traditional New Orleans jazz nightly since 1961, with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band leading short.
TipThree sets a night, around 17:00, 20:00 and 21:00. Tickets via the box office sell out; the $50 reserved seats save you from standing-room.
Snug Harbor on Frenchmen is the sit-down jazz room of the Marigny, with two sets a night in a renovated 1800s storefront and Ellis Marsalis Trio holding.
TipTwo nightly sets at 19:30 and 21:30. Book a music room ticket online; the bistro side seats walk-ins for Creole dinner before the show.
The Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street is the standing-room jazz, blues and gypsy-swing room that runs three sets a day, no cover at the door and a single-bill.
TipNo cover but a one-drink minimum per set. The afternoon set around 14:00 is the easier walk-in; the 22:00 set fills the room standing.
d.b.a. on Frenchmen Street pairs a 60-tap craft beer and bourbon programme with a back-room stage that runs the Treme Brass Band, Walter Wolfman Washington.
TipCover usually $10 to $20 paid at the door for the back room. Saturdays open at 14:00; the Glen David Andrews and Treme Brass Band sets are the headliners.
Tipitina's at Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas has anchored Uptown live music since 1977, named for the Professor Longhair song and now musician-owned by Galactic.
TipFree Friday concerts every week with local headliners. Buy ticketed shows in advance via the venue site; show floor is general admission.
Maple Leaf Bar on Oak Street has hosted the Rebirth Brass Band's Tuesday-night residency for over thirty years, a packed back room that ends.
TipGet in line by 22:00 for the Rebirth Tuesday; cash at the door. The pressed-tin ceiling and pat o'briens dim glow keep the heat in.
Chickie Wah Wah on Canal Street is the intimate Mid-City music bar that books Jon Cleary, Meschiya Lake and Tom McDermott as locals, with Blue Oak BBQ.
TipShows nightly from 17:00. Reserve a table via the venue site for the early set if you want dinner alongside; the late set is general admission.
The Howlin' Wolf on South Peters runs the Warehouse District concert hall plus The Den, a smaller back room. Capacity over 600 with a pro-grade sound system.
TipBuy main-hall tickets in advance; The Den is the walk-in option for local funk and Sunday brass nights with no cover.
BMC at the corner of Decatur and Esplanade is the upstairs balcony jazz room that runs live music every night, half a block from the Frenchmen Street strip.
TipTwo sets most nights, no cover. Climb to the wraparound balcony for the breeze and the second-line view down Esplanade.
The AllWays Lounge on St Claude books burlesque, drag, comedy, theatre and queer cabaret in a Marigny shotgun room that holds about 80 and runs free Sunday.
TipCover usually $10 to $15 at the door; Sunday 20:00 swing-dance lessons are free with no cover. Calendar updates weekly on the venue site.
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