Lafayette
This genuine honky tonk was constructed more than 100 years ago as modest lodging for passing travelers. In 2001, the Blue Moon Saloon was added as a go-to spot for down-home roots music.
New Orleans
Occupying a 1912 building in Uptown, scores of famous acts have performed and even recorded live albums here, from Jane’s Addiction to Dr. John. Look for the yellow building with the banana on the sign.
Mandeville
Founded in 1895 to house the Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Association providing outreach for African Americans, the Dew Drop is an integral piece of jazz history. After the association dissolved in the ’40s, the Dew Drop became one of the premier venues for some of the earliest New Orleans jazz players like Buddie Petit and Louis Armstrong.
New Orleans
After two relocations, the venue now occupies a vibrant, mural-adorned building in the Warehouse District. It has two performance spaces—the main room and the den—as well as a mahogany bar taken from a hotel owned by Al Capone.
Mandeville
A true-to-roots roadhouse occupying a 125-year-old building, this storied spot has welcomed countless Louisiana musicians to its stage, like The Boogie Men, Big Daddy O and Tab Benoit.
New Orleans
Gasa Gasa provides a home to many vibrant creative happenings—music, comedy, art, film. Plastered with a mural of men who appear to be shouting out to the passersby of Freret Street, it is hard to miss.
Mamou
Fred’s Lounge is home to a more-than-55-year-old Ville Platte tradition: a Saturday morning Cajun music jam that is broadcast live on KVPI Radio.
New Orleans
Founded in the ’50s as an art gallery welcoming jazz musicians struggling to find gigs in the era of rock ‘n’ roll and bebop, Preservation Hall has since become a stalwart of the jazz community.
This article was originally published in the September 2021 issue of 225 magazine.
