Best Live Music Bars in New Orleans

The Spotted Cat is the beating heart of Frenchmen Street and New Orleans' best small music venue. No cover charge, 3 sets nightly of jazz, swing, and blues. The room holds maybe 80 people, so arrive by 9pm on weekends to get a spot at the bar. Order the cheap Abita draft and stay for the whole set. There is no better value in American live music. Jazz

Three floors of music across two stages makes The Maison the most ambitious live music bar on Frenchmen Street. The ground floor runs straight-ahead jazz until midnight; the upstairs switches between brass band and funk. There is almost always something happening on at least one stage by 8pm. Drinks are priced for locals, not for tourists, which keeps the crowd honest. Multiple Stages

Preservation Hall is not just a bar, it is a living museum of traditional New Orleans jazz. Sets run 45 minutes and are booked months in advance for the best lineups. The hall itself holds 100 people standing. No alcohol is served inside; buy your drink on St. Peter Street first. This is one of the great musical experiences available anywhere in the world. Traditional Jazz

d.b.a. books the most diverse lineup on Frenchmen Street. Any given week might bring rockabilly, Afrobeat, traditional jazz, and original brass band compositions. The 200-bottle beer selection is taken as seriously as the music. The back patio is the best outdoor music space in the Marigny when the weather holds. Diverse Lineup

Named for a Professor Longhair song, Tipitina's has anchored Uptown's music scene since 1977. It is a proper mid-sized venue, capacity 500, and it books national touring acts as well as local legends. The Sunday afternoon shows are a New Orleans institution. The polished concrete floors and raftered ceilings give the room one of the best acoustics in the city. Venue

Snug Harbor books the most serious contemporary jazz in New Orleans. This is not tourist jazz or background music; these are working musicians presenting full compositions. Charmaine Neville and Ellis Marsalis have been regulars for decades. The bistro format means you can eat a full meal while you listen, which makes the $30 cover feel fair. Contemporary Jazz

The Maple Leaf has hosted the Rebirth Brass Band every Tuesday since 1983. That single fact explains why it is on this list. Tuesday nights at the Maple Leaf are one of the great recurring rituals in American music. The bar itself is a narrow shotgun of pressed tin ceilings and beer-soaked wood. The cheapest Abita in Uptown is poured here. Rebirth Brass Band

A shoebox of a bar with no cover charge and acoustic music every night of the week. Apple Barrel fits 40 people when it is packed, which it always is after 9pm on weekends. The musicians are paid entirely by tips, so be generous. This is the most democratic music experience in the Marigny and a strong argument for the neighborhood over the Quarter. Acoustic

Only in New Orleans would a bowling alley be one of the city's top music venues. Rock 'n' Bowl has 16 lanes on the ground floor and a full music venue on the second. Thursday zydeco nights are a city institution. The crowd skews local and multi-generational, and the kitchen serves fried catfish that will change your relationship with the place. Zydeco

Three Muses combines a serious cocktail program with live music every night, which almost no bar on Frenchmen Street manages to do without compromising one or both. The cocktails here are genuinely good; the music is mostly jazz and soul. The small-plates kitchen runs until midnight. It is the most complete bar experience on the street, and consistently underrated. Cocktails

Bamboula's books the youngest and most experimental lineups on Frenchmen Street. It is where emerging jazz and funk musicians test new material in front of a forgiving, adventurous crowd. The outdoor courtyard operates until midnight and generates a sound spill onto the street that draws passersby in off the sidewalk most nights. Emerging Artists

Mid-City's best live music bar books a 5-night-a-week schedule of blues, jazz, and R&B in a room that holds 100 people comfortably. The stage is positioned at the end of the bar, so every seat is a good seat. It is the neighborhood's answer to Frenchmen Street without the tourist markup, and the local following it has built since 2009 is impressively loyal. Blues

The Balcony Music Club earns its name: the wrought-iron balcony overlooking Chartres Street is the most coveted spot in the room. Three acts per night, rotating genres from New Orleans brass to Latin jazz. The second-floor perspective on the French Quarter at night, with a Sazerac in hand and live music behind you, is hard to improve on. Balcony

The Hi-Ho is the outer edge of New Orleans nightlife, both geographically and artistically. The St. Claude corridor attracts the city's most experimental musicians and the crowds who follow them. Expect anything from drag shows to original brass compositions on a Tuesday night. Cheapest drinks on this list. No pretense whatsoever. Experimental