New Orleans Music Walking Tour
Description
Explore the world’s richest musical city. Starting with Louis Armstrong Park and Congo Square, historic site of African slave gatherings, it is the only place in North America where pure West African religious ritual and musical traditions were performed. Congo Square is the wellspring of all New Orleans music and so many of world-famous songs. Visit the building which housed Cosimo Matassa’s groundbreaking J&M Studios - the true birthplace of rock’n'roll. See the New Orleans Musicians Tomb. The first burial to take place was for Lloyd Washington of the Ink Spots on October 23, 2004. The Musicians Tomb was restored and is administered by Robert Florence of NOLA Historic Tours. Learn about the Second Line & stroll down Basin Street to the remains of Storyville, fabled red light district whose parlors presented Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton. Then move through the Tango Belt to May Bailey’s and the French Opera House, ending with the legendary Preservation Hall.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Learn of the West African influence on New Orleans music through the Bamboula.
Learn of many New Orleans music styles from opera to the second line to opera!
Learn of many New Orleans music elements and the origins of the song "Basin Street Blues".
Learn about and hear recorded music from the early days of Jazz in the red light district Storyville!
Enter a replica of a Storyville parlour.
Learn of the French Opera and R&B traditions on New Orleans' most famous street!
End the tour where the past, present and future of New Orleans music converges - the legendary Preservation Hall!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(22)
Wow!! David has such a wealth of knowledge about music and history. He wove a wonderful account of how historical forces forged the evolution of American music. We highly recommend this tour!!!
Our tour guide was a fount of musical knowledge on New Orleans. He was engaging, personal, and had a wicked sense of humor. The only reason I gave my rating four stars instead of five was that we didn’t cover much physical territory. The tour mostly centered around Congo Square and Louis Armstrong Park.
This was such a magnificent and incredible experience! Our guide was so informed so knowledgeable has done so much research and provided so much information. It was overwhelming and beyond fascinating! He knew the history of the culture, the music, the people, the places everywhere we went and everything we engaged with was so interesting and he Provided so much knowledge about the history and center of New Orleans being a cultural beacon in the United States. this was one of the best tours I’ve ever been on. My friend and I were talking for days after the tour about how much fun it was and how special we felt just being the two of us getting to go on this amazing tour with this guy who knows so much. He’s working on a book. I can’t wait to read that when it is done and again I cannot thank him for the exceptional job he did and how wonderful he made our experience on this trip. I highly highly highly recommend this tour if you’re in New Orleans it’s a must do and want to thank you again for a magnificent job.
This tour was great!! David was very knowledgeable and a lot of fun! Would definitely recommend this tour to others!!
The tour guide was very knowledgeable but I had a hard time hearing him. I would have preferred he slowed down and let us ask questions.
Great Tour, David was amazing and full of knowledge and History. We fully enjoyed even through the parade that was going on David kept us on track and never missed a beat. It's a must so much history in this tour.
The tour guide was very informative. We enjoyed our tour and definitely learned some things from her.
David was not only knowledgeable, but entertaining. He showed us significant landmarks and provided sound bites and video snippets on his iPad to help us remember. He tailored the experience by asking us questions about our interests. We definitely recommend the experience to anyone interested in learning how New Orleans helped to evolve the music in America.
David was great. Energetic, happy, full of love for music. I’d recommend this & especially him to anyone!
Our tour guide David was very knowledgable about the history of New Orleans music and we learned a lot about the origin of jazz and its connection to New Orleans. He was also very engaging with the tour members and humorous as well.
