New Orleans Music Guide: Where to Hear Live Jazz

Music is the reason many people come to New Orleans, and the reason they come back. You don't need to plan much: walk down the right street on any night of the year and you'll hear a band. But knowing where to go makes the difference between a tourist bar's covers and a band that locals cross town to hear.

Frenchmen Street

Three blocks in the Marigny, just downriver from the French Quarter, packed with small clubs. Many have no cover charge but a one-drink minimum, and some ask for a tip jar contribution between sets. The Spotted Cat is a tiny, sweaty room for trad jazz and swing, where people dance between the tables. Snug Harbor is a proper jazz club, with a seated listening room behind the bar and a balcony above the stage, where you'll pay to get in. d.b.a. and the Blue Nile have bigger stages for funk, brass and soul. On weekend evenings, the street itself fills with brass bands and an art market.

Preservation Hall

On St. Peter Street in the Quarter, a small, worn room founded in 1961 to keep traditional New Orleans jazz alive. Sets are short, about 45 minutes, with the musicians just a few feet away. There's no bar and seats are limited, so book tickets in advance.

Brass bands and second lines

The city's brass bands mix old jazz with funk and hip-hop, and they sound their loudest in a packed neighbourhood bar rather than on a festival stage. Watch for regular weekly gigs at neighbourhood bars in Tremé and the Seventh Ward, and look up the Sunday second-line schedule, which runs from late summer to spring. Each parade is organised by a social aid and pleasure club, and anyone can follow along behind the band.

Other venues

• Tipitina's, Uptown, the home of New Orleans funk and rhythm and blues, with a bust of Professor Longhair by the door.
• The Maple Leaf Bar, on Oak Street, known for its long-running weekly brass nights.
• The Candlelight Lounge in Tremé, a no-frills neighbourhood bar with brass bands and red beans.
• Jazz brunches at the old Creole restaurants, a gentler way in.

Festivals

Jazz Fest in late April and early May is the big one. The French Quarter Festival in April is free, and Satchmo SummerFest in August celebrates Louis Armstrong. Our best time to visit guide has the calendar.

Line-ups change nightly, so check the local radio station WWOZ's online calendar before you go out. Tip the band, and our where to stay guide explains why the Marigny is the best base for music lovers.