NOLAxNOLA Returns
For the fifth time, the NOLAxNOLA live concert concert series is back from September 25 to October 5, offering up some great vibes and even greater music.
Since its inception, the event has shifted New Orleans culture in numerous ways during an unprecedented time. The initiative, birthed in 2021, started as a tool to support musicians and cultural bearers throughout the city and transcended into a permanent gathering honoring community, culture, and music. In the past, the series has featured various artists and genres, from brass bands and bounce music legends to Grammy winners, with only one goal in mind: celebrating music in New Orleans.
NOLAxNOLA's History
During the height of the pandemic, the city of New Orleans drastically changed. The city that never sleeps was quickly turned into a ghost town and the music scene stop. With the historic Jazz and Heritage Music Festival not taking place, NOLAxNOLA was thought to be a new tradition to sustain the music industry in NOLA.
"It started coming out of the pandemic...on a Sunday afternoon Jazz Fest canceled their fall edition. Shortly there after, Voodoo canceled, Buku canceled, French Quarter Festival, [and] Fried Chicken Festival, they all canceled," Founder of NOLAxNOLA Sig Greenbaum said.
The pandemic affected the restaurant industry and would soon hit the music business. It was hard for a lot of businesses to regroup. NOLAxNOLA was aimed at getting New Orleanians gathered together like the good ole days, making things a bit more normal post-pandemic.
"I had an idea and maybe that we could address it...we really need to get locals into the venues. I already had the name NOLAxNOLA, it was really about New Orleanians helping New Orleanians," Greenbaum continued.
After his numerous conversations with venue owners and other professionals trying to get back into the fold following the pandemic, connections were made and the rebuilding began.
"The venues were looking forward to real shows after doing the sit down shows and the drive-ins, which nobody could make money but those things made people feel normal. My thought was [that] if we could bring everybody together and market this as one thing and say to the people [that] we are open in New Orleans; we have music and we have food," Greenbaum stated.
The Benefits of NOLAxNOLA
The concert series, garnering support from both locals and visitors, not only caters to the music scene but also contributes to the economic landscape. The businesses benefit as support for the city, as well as its musicians, grows, allowing the economy to thrive. NOLAxNOLA has gathered music lovers into over 50 different music venues and held 300+ musical performances. However, the series is constantly innovating, introducing new types of events to keep supporters engaged.
Greenbaum spoke on how the iconic Nola x No Cover series, the free series that sees live no-cover performances held in various places across the city, is still happening but with a twist.
"The NOLA x No Cover Piece, it is such a special thing with great potential...I'm very focused on bringing people to neighborhoods so it's not just one street or one place, [focusing] on how do we celebrate a neighborhood to where we have a lot of street parties and pop up events happening in the city."
New Orleans is a unique place, regularly hosting Second Line Sundays, crawfish boils, live DJs in the backyard, parties on Bourbon Street, and cheerful buzzing in the French Quarter. To many, the Big Easy is a place built to celebrate anything, but that isn't quite the case. This is a city built on tradition, family, history, and community. NOLAxNOLA is the concert series that is bringing in music lovers from all over the world to NOLA and is looking to leave its mark as a staple that shifts the culture of the city as a whole while also giving back to it.
"We work very closely with the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Foundation, and they give us one grant that we divvy up to all the venues," Greenbaum said. "We work on this all year round to support live music...I think we have become an outlet as a unified voice for venues and musicians."
NOLAxNOLA 2025
Don't just hear about the hype; instead, become a part of it. NOLAxNOLA curates each series to be better than the last. NOLAxNOLA events begin on September 25 and run until October 5.
The festivities are not sure to disappoint as this year's events has something for everyone. Select events for this year's NOLAxNOLA include:
- September 25 — The Comedy Roast of Jelly Joseph; Venue: Tipitina's
- September 25 — The Soul Rebels featuring Jelly Joseph; Venue: Le Bon Temps Roule
- September 26 — Cha Wa featuring Irma Thomas and more; Venue: Toulouse Theatre
- September 26 — Big Freedia + LPO, Venue: Orpheum Theater
- October 3 — Erica Falls Tribute to Curtis Mayfield featuring Irma Thomas, Bill Summers, Raymond Webber, and more; Venue: Chickie Wah Wah
For more details and a full list of events, venues, and artists, click here.
