New Orleans, with its famous “Big Easy” vibe, fabulous food and exhilarating live music scene, might just be America’s biggest party – and not just during its iconic Mardi Gras celebration. Its eclectic neighbourhoods straddling the snaking Mississippi River are home to a year-round bevy of musical acts, spanning styles from funk to blues to the New Orleans-bred genres of jazz, Cajun-infused zydeco and hip-hop subset Bounce.
We asked Andrew Duhon, a NOLA-based singer-songwriter, to help us find his hometown’s best live music venues. “This isn’t just any other city that we’re living in,” said Duhon. “This is a special place to wander around, and the stories are everywhere, through every aged wooden French-style door that opens up into a beautiful courtyard in the French Quarter.”
But with so many stories – and venues – to choose from, Duhon, who performs all over the country with his folk and blues trio, gravitates towards places that “feel” like New Orleans. “To stand on the corner at a place like BJ’s in the Bywater and talk to the local folk,” he said. “Half of them you might recognise and be familiar with and the other half, you’re going to be friends in five minutes and enjoy a show inside.”
Duhon remains especially influenced by the city itself, which he believes unconsciously inspires every NOLA-based creative and lives in its best music venues. “I can come home and feel that sense of history in a room like that and a welcoming back. I think that is truly unique to New Orleans.”
Here are eight of Andrew Duhon’s favourite spots to catch live music acts in New Orleans.
1. Best large venue that stages national acts: Tipitina’s
“The first place that comes to mind is Tipitina’s,” said Duhon, citing the rustic juke joint that has been one of New Orleans’ most revered music venues since it opened in 1977. “It was named after a song by [iconic New Orleans pianist] Professor Longhair. So even the name is of New Orleans.”
2. Best for making a night of it: the Maple Leaf Bar
For visitors planning a whole evening in New Orleans, Duhon recommends the funky watering hole the Maple Leaf Bar, also Uptown, which has hosted live acts since 1974.
3. Best listening room: Chickie Wah Wah
For the discerning music lover who wants nothing more than to sit down and listen in a chill space with a cocktail in their hand, Duhon recommends heading to Chickie Wah Wah, an unassuming white brick cottage on the Canal Street streetcar line offering a constant line up of great musical acts. “The owner passed away a few years back and there was word that it might go away,” said Duhon. “But since then, I’m glad to report that new owners – all of them just understanding and loving New Orleans – are doing good things with that room. And I think it’s a great spot to catch a show.”
Chickie Wah Wah’s intimate space is a magnet for a New Orleans-style blend of musical styles. “They’ll do the singer-songwriter type things, you know, broad in that sense,” said Duhon, who enjoys performing at Chickie Wah Wah when he’s in town. “It can be anything from country to rock and roll to local Cajun music, but, you know, something that you can sit and listen to.”
4. Best dive bar with eclectic line up: Le Bon Temps Roule
If a dive bar immediately conjures up images of a barely functioning jukebox, allow your horizons to be broadened with a visit to Le Bon Temps Roule – or Le Bon Temps, as it’s affectionately called by locals.
5. Best for wandering from venue to venue with a drink in your hand: Frenchmen Street and Saint Claude Avenue
If certain venues “feel” like New Orleans, there are two streets – or corridors, in NOLA-speak – that encapsulate the vibe for Duhon. “Maybe you just picked up a cocktail from one room, but you want to go to the next,” he said. “You can bring that cocktail along to the next room if you like. You can walk with your drink in New Orleans.”
