French Quarter Events
Our curated list of upcoming neighborhood happenings is updated each Tuesday, so check back often!
French Quarter Festival 2024, photo by Scott Saltzman. See our mega photo album from 2024 and get revved up for the 2025 FQF! FQJ’s Don’t-Miss List
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Rhythm & Roses is back for its highly anticipated 2025 season, bringing real New Orleans music to the rose-filled garden of the BK House. This beloved live music concert series showcases the best of jazz, blues, funk, and folk, celebrating the city’s rich musical traditions in an unforgettable outdoor setting.
🎵 Join us for an incredible lineup:
🌹 March 27 – Cha Wa
🌹 April 3 – Yusa
🌹 April 17 – Amanda Shaw
🌹 April 24 – Amina Scott
🌹 May 1 – Kristin Diable & Radiobird String QuartetEnjoy live music under the stars, a breathtaking garden atmosphere, and the soulful sounds of New Orleans musicians. Get your tickets now!
Sunday, March 23 through Sunday, March 30
The Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival
Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal Street
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Now in its 39th year, The Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival is a five-day event held each spring in New Orleans' historic French Quarter that attracts participants from around the world.
TWFest isn't your ordinary book festival. We kick off our festival with a Stella Shouting Contest in the heart of the French Quarter, followed by over 100 events: literary panel discussions, writer's craft sessions, Williams scholars conference, literary walking tours, author interviews, writing marathons, music, theatre, and culinary events. Pulitzer-Prize winner Tennessee Williams is our patron saint, and a portion of our programming centers on his work, with the rest inspired by his passion for life and literature.
Speakers include Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Cunningham, Gillian Flynn, Maureen Corrigan, Laura Lippman, Yuri Herrera, Kalamu ya Salaam, Megan Abbott, KB Brookins, Chin-Sun Lee, Karisma Price, Chef Eric Cook, E. M. Tran, Miles Harvey, Alex Jennings, Mari Kornhauser, and more
Friday, March 28
Gallatin Street Fridays: Nancy Zee
New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Ave.
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~The New Orleans Jazz Museum presents a live performance by Nanci Zee. Join us as we celebrate the artists that make New Orleans a world destination for music.
~This program takes place inside our third floor Performance Center, listening room. Admission is free and open to the public, seating is limited and offered first come, first serve.
Saturday, March 29 through Sunday, March 30
Congo Square Rhythms Festival
Armstrong Park, 701 N. Rampart Street
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~ Free festival produced by the Jazz & Heritage Foundation featuring music, dance, an arts market, food and kids’ tent.
It was in Congo Square that enslaved African people gathered on Sunday afternoons to practice their ancestral traditions. Their legacy lives on in our Congo Square Rhythms Festival, a free weekend celebration showcasing the music, food, and dance that made New Orleans known around the world.
Come out for two full days of music, 10:45am to 7:30pm, with
performances by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, New Breed Brass Band, Original Pinettes Brass Band, Gladney, Erica Falls, Jamal Batiste, Robin Barnes & the Fiya Birds, Nola Resistance, Cole Williams, Alicia Renee aka “Blue Eyes," We Are One Brass Band, Bamboula 2000, Shaka Zulu, and many more!Plus, an exhibition of African dance from premiere New Orleans dance ensembles featuring Nkiruka Drum & Dance Ensemble, N’fungola Sibo African Dance and Drum Company, Inc., Kumbuka Dance Ensemble, N’Kafu Traditional African Dance, and Culu Children’s Traditional African Dance!
The Congo Square Rhythms festival sits on the outskirts of the French Quarter in Tremé, celebrating the neighborhood as a key proving ground in the birthplace of jazz!
Admission to the Congo Square Rhythms Festival is free. But we will have donation boxes set up at most of the park entrances. If you want to help us keep our events free, please support us with the donation of your choice. Thank you!
Thursday, April 10 – Sunday, April 13
French Quarter Festival
French Quarter
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An Since 1984, the French Quarter Festival has celebrated the essence of New Orleans with over 20 stages showcasing every genre of local music, from traditional jazz to brass bands and Zydeco. Known as the city’s “favorite festival,” this event highlights the culinary excellence of over 60 Louisiana restaurants and attracts visitors from around the world to the iconic French Quarter.
~ music lineup
April 8, Tuesday: 5pm - 8:30pm
“Women of Preservation Hall” – Bill Russell Lecture
Historic New Orleans Collection
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The Historic New Orleans Collection and Preservation Hall Archives are excited to copresent a spirited exploration of women’s musicianship and history at Preservation Hall.
This dynamic program includes a lecture featuring guest speakers Kelly Porter and Sherrie Tucker with special guest Dodie Smith-Simmons, followed by a performance featuring women who play at Preservation Hall who give voice to the deepest musical traditions of New Orleans, led by Mari Watanabe and joined by special guests. Prior to the lecture, attendees are invited to an informal “show-and-tell” that will showcase related archival objects from HNOC and Preservation Hall.
Schedule and locations:
• Show and Tell: 5–6 p.m. (Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres St.)
• Lecture: 6–7 p.m. at 410 Chartres St. (Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres St.)
• Performance: 7:30–8:30 p.m. (Toulouse Theatre, 615 Toulouse St.)Tickets are $20 for general admission and $5 for students: hnoc.org/events/bill-russell-lecture-2025
March 24 - March 31
Ahead at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro
626 Frenchmen Street
Image: Amina Figarova’s Special Edition, “On Canal Street”
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~ FQJ's Fave: Amina Figarova’s Special Edition, “On Canal Street” on March 29, Saturday.
Click here for the full month's schedule and links to purchase tickets!
Below are 50 upcoming events happening in the FQ and surrounding neighborhoods. Want even more? Click the button at the bottom, which will take you to our FB Events page.
Our events are curated. For a complete list of live music happenings in the city, check out WWOZ’s Livewire Music Calendar!
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