The 8th annual NOLA River Fest takes place the week of September 21-27, 2020, online at nolariverfest.org and on facebook.com/nolariverfest/live. NOLA River Fest celebrates the environmental, cultural, and economic impact of the Mississippi River and the land it built through live music, panels, and virtual tours that explore this year’s theme “Working on the River.” A full schedule of events can be found at nolariverfest.org

The New Orleans Jazz Museum recognizes the great need for live programming to support both the cultural economy of our city and the spirit of our community. We hope you enjoy our many virtual offerings, which are free and available to everyone on our Facebook page.

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, the Louisiana State Museum, and the New Orleans Jazz Museum are proud to announce the Gia Maione Prima Foundation’s generous support of its Education Outreach Program. The $25,000 award will assist the New Orleans Jazz Museum in facilitating distance learning opportunities for students and teachers in the New Orleans community.

As we begin a new decade, we look forward to further expansion and the build out of the first phase of our permanent exhibit, on the history of New Orleans jazz.

Join us at the New Orleans Jazz Museum from Wednesday, January 15, 2020 through Sunday, January 19, 2020 for the Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival, five days of great talk, music, and more in celebration of the life and legacy of NEA Jazz Master Danny Barker.

On December 7, 2019, the New Orleans Jazz Museum will publicly unveil a sculpture for their new Sculpture Garden, The Bass Player, by legendary musician and artist Herb Alpert. In addition, Alpert and his wife Lani Hall, through their  Herb Alpert Foundation, have awarded a grant to the New Orleans Jazz Museum to support the construction of the museum’s new Jazz Education Center. The grant will also establish the Herb Alpert Live Performance Fund for ongoing jazz education and live performances.

In 1961, New Orleans Mayor Vic Schiro declared November 12-19 New Orleans Jazz Week. His declaration was made at the official dedication of the city’s first New Orleans Jazz Museum, which opened at 1017 Dumaine Street on Sunday, November 12, 1961. To celebrate the museum’s opening, festivities began in Armstrong Park, which included the mayor’s speech and, of course, several live performances. Then, the ceremony wrapped up the way most do in New Orleans: with a second line.

The New Orleans Jazz Museum is thrilled to participate again in Ask A Curator Day on September 18, 2019, an annual Q&A with over 1,500 participating museums from 58 countries!

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans fourteen years ago, today, causing levee breaches throughout the city. The Lower Ninth Ward, where Fats Domino lived, quickly filled with floodwater, and the music legend had to be rescued by boat. The Steinway wasn’t so lucky.

The 7th annual Downriver Festival on Saturday, September 7th, 2019 celebrates the environmental, cultural, and economic impact of the Mississippi River and the land it built through live music, panels, children’s activities, and walking tours that explore this year’s theme “Southern Seafood”  Festival events occur at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Enjoy the last taste of summer with delicious seafood and other fare from six local Louisiana food vendors.

Dave Bartholomew will be remembered as one of rock ’n’ roll’s greatest producers. Bartholomew grew up on the outskirts of New Orleans and was always loved music. He got the chance to hear jazz for the first time on a showboat that passed by his hometown along the Mississippi river.

You can see the imprint of New Orleans, his hometown, in Louis Prima’s irrepressible stage performances. Often, he and his band jumped around and hammed it up so exuberantly that it was hard for people to see the level of his true musicianship. “Play pretty for the people,” he’d say.