NEW ORLEANS – An unprecedented coalition of New Orleans’ iconic nightclubs and music venues, in partnership with New Orleans & Company, have proactively combined to create NOLAxNOLA, a branded series of live music events throughout the city during the dates of our lost New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, October 7-17, 2021. The goal of NOLAxNOLA is to keep New Orleans’ music venues, musicians and culture bearers strong and supported during this difficult time, while following all safety guidelines.
NOLAxNOLA strives to illustrate that we can create a national model of promoting and supporting live music in a safe way that calls for proof of COVID vaccine or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours for entrance into the venue. We are asking locals and visitors to join our musicians and employees in getting vaccinated and continuing our way of life. We want locals to have safe venues to attend shows and we will promote to travelers that they keep their travel plans, while following all vaccination and safety guidelines, because the shows must go on.
NOLAxNOLA will feature over 170 events across over 20 music venues in 10 days. More shows are being added by the day.
NOLAxNOLA Music Venues:
– Buffa’s Bar
– Café Istanbul
– Café Negril
– Carnaval Lounge
– Civic Theatre
– d.b.a.
– Gasa Gasa
– Hi-Ho Lounge
– Howlin’ Wolf
– Joy Theater
– Mid City Lanes Rock ‘n’ Bowl
– NOLA Brewing Company
– Preservation Hall
– Republic NOLA
– Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro
– The Broadside
– The Maison
– The Metropolitan
– The Starlight
– Three Keys
– Tipitina’s
– Voodoo Two Lounge
– Zony Mash Beer Project
NOLAxNOLA Supporters:
– 7S Management
– BackBeat / Hypersoul
– Fandiem
– Fox Pocket
– Hotel St. Vincent
– MaCCNO
– New Orleans & Company
– Red Light Management
– Sigfest Events
– Them People Productions
– WWOZ
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on New Orleans’ critical cultural economy for locals and visitors, despite months of optimism and a resurgence of leisure travelers earlier this year. Spring 2021 festivals rescheduled for the fall such as French Quarter Fest and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival have been cancelled due to the delta surge, as well as Buku Planet B, Beignet Fest, Fried Chicken Fest and Voodoo Music + Arts Experience.
NOLAxNOLA, designed to safely and immediately support clubs, musicians and culture bearers in a time of financial peril, could become an annual tradition, created in 2021, but lasting and growing for many years beyond.
New Orleans maintains the highest vaccination rate of any Louisiana parish with nearly 80 percent of eligible adults receiving at least their first vaccine. New Orleans & Company has been a strong advocate for COVID vaccines for the safety of all residents, employees and guests of the city.
Sig Greenebaum, Co-Founder of NOLAxNOLA and President of Sigfest Events said, “New Orleans festival seasons mean so much to the city. It is essential that we all band together to support the city and our vibrant artistic community in our time of need. Shows will go on and we will turn this challenging moment into a historic celebration!”
“We want to send a clear message to all travelers, regionals and locals who previously had planned to attend New Orleans music festivals or club concerts this fall: Visitors, please keep your travel plans and get vaccinated, locals…. get vaccinated and retain and buy other tickets to safe music venues this fall. Our live music shows and performances must survive, must go on and flourish,” said Stephen Perry, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the official destination sales and marketing organization for New Orleans’ tourism industry. “New Orleanians and our critical visitor economy deserve a rich array of music, delivered in wonderful safe club environments, instead of mass-attended festival events right now. Our music clubs are the lifeblood of the most authentic live music scene in America, and they and our musicians are in peril. This unprecedented coalition of venues, artists and New Orleans & Company has come together to plant a flag in the ground, book scores of concerts throughout venues and neighborhoods all over the city and drive the message that the music continues, and does so
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit neworleans.com/nolaxnola.
See also:
New Orleans: ‘It’s Not All About The Jazz,’ Guest at Destination Wedding in NOLA Discovers
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