If 2022 brought with it excitement for the full-throated return of live music and big festivals in New Orleans after long months of shutdowns and uncertainty, this year saw some of the rose-colored tint wear off and a better understanding of how local music will be dealing with the ripple effects of the pandemic for some time to come. This year the New Orleans music community saw its fair share of challenges and celebrations.
Carnival 2023 was, as usual, filled with great music both in the streets and in local venues, and the spring moved quickly on to another successful French Quarter Festival, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The tentpole New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was soon after back in full swing, with headlining sets by Lizzo, Ed Sheeran, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Ludacris, Dead & Co. and others. The Wu-Tang Clan was joined by The Soul Rebels to pack the Congo Square Stage on opening day. And Jon Batiste rocked a memorable homecoming show that celebrated Black New Orleans life.
The Essence Festival of Culture returned in July to the Caesars Superdome and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. And the fall was filled with festivals featuring live music, including the robust Gretna Heritage Fest, Gentilly Fest and the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival.
Juvenile performed during Bayou Boogaloo in May. The rapper had a massive 2023 with an NPR Tiny Desk appearance and sold out shows celebrating the 25th anniversary of ‘400 Degreez.’
August also brought with it one of the year’s biggest milestones: The 50th anniversary of hip-hop. People around the world celebrated the genre and its cultural impact with concerts and retrospectives. Essence Fest made celebrating 50 years of hip-hop a central part of this year’s event, with headlining performances by Ms. Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott and Megan Thee Stallion as well as showcases bringing together many of the icons of the genre.
But when it came to celebrating New Orleans’ place in hip-hop, things felt a little subdued — despite the massive impact the city and our musicians have had on the culture. The city also seemed to be left out of larger events, like Essence Fest, where the showcases originally included just one rapper from its host city: Mia X. Eventually, though, Juvenile — who is having his own massive year celebrating the 25th anniversary of “400 Degreez” — and Mannie Fresh were added to the lineup, and Lil Wayne made a surprise guest appearance.
A few individuals and organizations, including Ashe Cultural Arts Center, held events celebrating the Aug. 11 anniversary and the city’s contributions, but there wasn’t a large-scale celebration in the ways seen in other cities. Still, as the second half of the year has gone on, there has been more recognition of New Orleans’ contributions to hip-hop, including a major proclamation in late November by the New Orleans City Council. Juvenile and Mannie Fresh also end the year with a New Year’s Eve show at the Saenger Theatre.
The New Orleans rapper was joined by Mannie Fresh, Jon Batiste, Trombone Shorty and a can of Juvie Juice.
Many great festivals filled the spring and fall, but two large holes in the calendar remain: The BUKU Music + Art Project, which helped break the ice for the return of festivals in 2022, was cancelled for 2023, and the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience (which “took a pause” in 2022) was again missing from the fall festival lineup.
BUKU and Voodoo Fest crucially brought big name touring alt-rock, electronic and hip-hop acts to New Orleans as well as drew in a younger audience, and only time will tell if either festival is resurrected or if other events will take their places.
Jazz Fest implemented a few new changes in 2023, most notably its decision to go cashless. A few food and drink vendors decided to sit out this year’s festival due to the decision, and at first 100% cashless did not go well. Long food and drink lines piled up on opening day, causing some headaches for both attendees and vendors. Those hiccups seemed to clear up after the first couple of days, but by the end of the festival, some vendors seemed to have mixed feelings about the new system.
Prices on the Fair Grounds also seemed to hit a new high this year. Part of that is because of inflation, but the cashless system also contributed to it as vendors passed on new transaction fees to the customer.
Members of the Roots of Jazz Brass Band perform during the National Fried Chicken Festival in October.
As the summer started to heat up, cracks in the health of New Orleans live music scene seemed to become more apparent. A slowdown in tourism and of locals going out due to the extreme temperatures put a real squeeze on both gigging musicians and music venues. But it also exacerbated underlying problems affecting the local music community: low wages, inflation and the raising costs of rent, insurance and food. Audience habits also have changed in recent years — advance tickets aren’t selling as well as they once did before Covid and alcohol sales at concerts have been declining — putting new pressures on musicians and venues.
This year saw a few shake-ups to the city’s music venue landscape. One Eyed Jacks, which had moved in early 2022 from its longtime Toulouse Street home to Decatur Street, closed its doors in February. Neutral Ground Coffee House lost its spot on Daneel Street after 40 years and is currently looking for a new location. Gasa Gasa, an important venue for the city’s indie music scene, closed in November, and its future is uncertain.
Meanwhile, Frenchmen Street staple d.b.a. was sold but seems to be in good hands with the owners of Three Muses and the Spotted Cat. Buffa’s faced closure until the community rallied around it. And Music Box Village abruptly canceled the last two events of its 2023 season, citing challenges to finding grant support and attracting audiences. New Orleans Airlift, which administers the whimsical Bywater complex, says it hopes to reopen Music Box Village in 2024.
Q&As with artists about the past, present and future of New Orleans hip-hop and bounce.
This year was filled with notable moments. In August, GNO, Inc., The Idea Village, New Orleans & Co., Louisiana Entertainment and the city announced METRONOME, a new initiative focused on growing the music industry in New Orleans through workshops, apprenticeships and other programs. METRONOME will announce more in spring 2024.
New Orleans & Co. dubbed October as New Orleans Music Month and promoted the return of NOLAxNOLA, an initiative promoting concerts at local venues. The month closed with the multi-day NOLA MusicCon, bringing together speakers and workshops focused on growing the local music economy.
The city finally enacted musician loading zone permits outside of live music venues (although, the 15-minute time allowance may still present a challenge to local musicians). Preservation Hall named trumpeter Wendell Brunious as its first ever musical director. Rapper Rob49 and his deep baritone voice were named to XXL’s Freshman Class. And Beyonce brought her massive Renaissance tour to the Superdome.
With a foot planted in tradition, the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian funk band steps into the future.
And there was a lot of great new music this year, including posthumous albums from the great Walter “Wolfman” Washington and King Louie Bankston. Big Freedia celebrated her 20th anniversary making music with the album “Central City.” Lost Bayou Ramblers’ Louis Michot exchanged his fiddle for a guitar and drum machine on his first solo album, “Reve du Troubadour.” Mardi Gras Indian funk band The Rumble released its first live album and earned a Grammy nomination. And Flagboy Giz of the Wild Tchoupitoulas decided to push a few buttons on his new album “Disgrace to the Culture.”
That’s not to mention fantastic new projects by Ivan Neville, The Revivalists, People Museum, HaSizzle, Lilli Lewis, SaxKixAve, Ernie Vincent, Chief aTunde Adjuah, Corey Ledet, Stone Cold Jzzle, Jamal Batiste, Joystick and many others.
We also remember the irreplaceable New Orleans musicians lost this year, including saxophonist and educator Edward “Kidd” Jordan; drummer and bandleader Russell Batiste Jr.; Jean Knight, the singer of “Mr. Big Stuff”; rock ’n’ roll pioneer Huey “Piano” Smith; bounce artists Frederick “Flipset Fred” Palmer and Charles Ray “Charlie Whop” Davalie; tuba player Jeffrey Hills; drummer Sam Jackson; Revell Andrews, a gifted, young sousaphonist; singer-songwriter Perrin “Lenny” Green; and bluesman J. Monque’D.
New Orleans’ arts community celebrated a lot of milestones in 2023.
