10 Places to Groove to the Sounds of the Big Easy
This is the best of New Orleans.
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On your next trip to N’awlins take heed to this helpful guide and know this, “It’s New Orleans. You’re Different Here. Come Meet the Real You.”
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\rThe Band's All Here\r - Grammy Award-winning New Orleans native Irma Thomas said it best about her hometown sound, "We live and breathe our music, we don’t just play it." So, if it's an authentic slice of the Big Easy life you’re looking for, then you need to get an up close and personal view of the legendary brass bands that play throughout the city. From the popular Louisiana Brass Band to the Stooges Brass Band to the Rebirth Brass Band, you can see them all live. Venues like the famed Vaughn's Lounge and Kermit Ruffins' Sydney’s Saloon are exceptional spots to hear the finest jazz music.
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\rFrenchmen Street\r - If you're looking to escape the bustle of Bourbon Street, take the short jaunt to Frenchmen Street. The two-block musical stretch offers the infectious sounds of jazz, blues, Latin and reggae in spots like The Blue Nile, Snug Harbor, and d.b.a. Be sure to visit on "Dead Mondays."
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Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival - It doesn't get more N'awlins than this. Every March the festival rolls into the city’s famed Tremé neighborhood (yeah the same one from the critically-acclaimed HBO series) where foodies and music lovers can feast on a smorgasbord of gumbo dishes as they join the jubilant second-line parades that make their way through the streets of the Big Easy, keeping up centuries of a jazz tradition.
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Bounce to Dat - Before Lil Wayne and Cash Money Records became dominant forces in hip hop, 504 natives got down to bounce music, the energetic call-and-response style that originated in the wards of New Orleans. Today, fans of the old school sound can check out shows at venues like Republic New Orleans, where bounce veterans like Katey Red, Rusty Lazer and Big Freedia perform their hits.\r
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