New Orleans Music

Cajun Music

Cajun music, rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada, started in New Orleans. Popular groups including Hadley J. Castille Family & the Sharecroppers Cajun Band, seen performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, keep this unique style of music alive.

NOLA Native Harry Connick, Jr.

Musician and actor Harry Connick Jr., performs on the piano at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The New Orleans native has 7 top-20 US albums, and 10 number-1 US jazz albums, earning more number-1 albums than any other artist in the US jazz chart history.

Bourbon Street's Live Music Venues

Revelers walk along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter during New Orleans annual Mardi Gras, which features numerous bands and singers at popular establishments, including Bourbon Street Blues Company, The Eagle Saloon, Club 300 Jazz Restaurant, Funky Pirate, Old Opera House and House of Blues.

Zydeco Music

A Zydeco band plays in a bar along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, LA. Zydeco music was originally created at house dances, where families and friends gathered for socializing. It evolved from forms of Creole music, and it is usually characterized as fast-tempo music, dominated by the piano accordion and a form of washboard.

Birthplace of Jazz

New Orleans is also home to many notable musicians who played pivotal role jazz music, including Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe aka Jelly Roll Morton (1885 - 1941), an American ragtime jazz musician and songwriter. There are numerous claims that Morton invented jazz in 1902.

Voodoo Music Experience

Trent Reznor, frontman for the music group Nine Inch Nails, performs at the annual Voodoo Music Experience concert held at Riverview Park in New Orleans. New Orleans plays host to numerous music festivals each year, including the Rock `n' Roll Marathon, Mardi Gras, Bayou Boogaloo, Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, Soul Fest, Southern Decadence, Words & Music and the Essence Festival.

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

On right, Buckwheat Zydeco (1947-2016) performs at the Fair Grounds during the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. The festival features hundreds of musical acts on more than ten stages.

The Queen of Gospel

American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson (1911 - 1972) was born in the Carrollton neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans. She was referred to as 'The Queen of Gospel,' and she became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world.

Mickey's Next Stop is a popular hangout among residents during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Rock `n' Bowl and Margaritaville, owned by singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, are couple places music lovers can go to hear all types of music, including jazz, blues, Zydeco, southern rock and Cajun.

Better than Ezra lead singer Kevin Griffin performs during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. New Orleans has been the breeding ground for new talent and artists from different genres, including rap artists Lil' Wayne and Master P, and alternative rock band Better Than Ezra, who all hail from the Crescent City.

New Orleans rhythm and blues legend Fats Domino performs at the 30th Annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage.

We couldn't forget about jazz funerals in New Orleans. Derived from African spiritual practices, this cultural tradition is a funeral procession that includes the family and friends of the deceased person, who, in most cases, had some connection to the music industry. A brass band usually starts with somber hymns, but after the deceased is buried or the hearse leaves the procession, they transition to playing upbeat music.