New Orleans musicians are gearing up for an 11-day stretch that has quietly become one of the city's most important paydays outside the big festival season. NOLAxNOLA runs Sept. 24 through Oct. 4, bringing more than 300 performances to 50 venues across the city, with headline moments including Irma Thomas joining the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and a reunion show tied to the long-gone alternative rock station 106.7 The End.
The event traces back to 2021, when it was created to help New Orleans musicians and venues return to work amid pandemic disruption, according to New Orleans CityBusiness. That October, the cancellation of Jazz Fest had harmed venues and musicians. The series has since become an annual fixture, sponsored every year by the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Foundation since its inception, per CityBusiness.
Walt Leger III said the event is designed to generate business for musicians, cultural artists and venues while drawing visitors into the city, according to the same report. Organizers say NOLAxNOLA has now distributed more than $1.05 million to local venues, musicians and cultural artists since 2021 — support Lisa D. Alexis said reaches cultural artists, technicians, sound engineers, equipment staff, managers and venues alike. Sig Greenebaum framed the effort more simply, saying it reflects New Orleans musicians helping New Orleans musicians.
From 200 Shows to Over 300
The scale of NOLAxNOLA has grown considerably since its scrappy first run. The inaugural 2021 event featured roughly 200 shows across 35 venues over 10 days; this year's iteration expands that footprint to more than 300 performances across 50 venues, per CityBusiness and Where Y'at's reporting. The initial 2021 run featured more than 200 shows over 10 days.
Both New Orleans & Company and the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Foundation jointly announced this year's Sept. 24 through Oct. 4 dates, and organizers say additional performances and schedule updates will be announced before the opening. The foundation's grant dollars flow from a dedicated per-night hotel occupancy tax generating roughly $5.3 million annually, plus $1 million from Harrah's Casino lease revenues, according to the Bureau of Governmental Research. Between May 2021 and October 2024, that fund distributed $13.7 million across more than 1,500 grants and sponsorships citywide, putting NOLAxNOLA's own $1.05 million within a much larger ecosystem of municipal cultural spending.
Marquee Sets at Historic Stages
Among the most anticipated pairings is Irma Thomas performing with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at Preservation Hall on Sept. 26. The venue itself opened at 726 St. Peter St. in May 1961, founded by Larry Borenstein, and later run for decades by Allan and Sandra Jaffe as an unamplified, racially integrated space during the Jim Crow era, according to Smithsonian Magazine. That history gives the Thomas pairing added weight for longtime fans of the room.
The same night, a 106.7 The End reunion takes over the Howlin' Wolf, featuring performances by Supagroup and Carmine P. Filthy. The station, broadcasting under the call sign KKND, launched its modern rock format in September 1996 before Hurricane Katrina knocked it off the air in 2005; KKND returned to the air on January 8, 2006, with a different format, per Wikipedia. For a generation of local rock fans, the station's return — even for one night — carries its own nostalgic pull.
Other marquee bookings dot the schedule. Rebirth Brass Band shares the stage with Mardi Gras Indians at The Rabbit Hole on Sept. 29, while Tipitina's hosts The Rumble performing P-Funk with Jamison Ross, Ian Neville and DJ Soul Sister on Sept. 24, followed by River Eckert's Generations of Groove on Oct. 2, featuring Cyril Neville, Omari Neville, Dave Malone, Reggie Scanlan, John Boutte and Deacon John. Tipitina's itself has musician roots: the Uptown venue, built in 1912 as a gambling house and brothel before becoming a music club in 1977, was purchased in 2018 by members of the funk group Galactic, according to Explore Louisiana. On Oct. 2, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra joins Tank and the Bangas and Dawn Richard at the Orpheum Theater.
Free Shows and Industry Programming
Beyond ticketed headliners, the free-admission NOLAxNOCover initiative returns, offering no-cost performances at participating venues — a program that presented 100 free shows during the 2025 event. That kind of access matters, making free-entry programming a visible part of the event's offering.
NOLAxNOLA also includes an industry conference component. NOLAxNOLA Talks, presented by Relix Magazine, returns to the New Orleans Jazz Museum Oct. 1-2 with eight panels on the music industry, culture and business, and will also be streamed online. The Idea Village participates in the Talks' Metronome Pitch Day, and the fifth-anniversary Women of the New Orleans Music Industry Meet & Greet is planned for this year, though its date and location have yet to be announced.
For visitors who want a curated experience, NOLAxNOLA Curated offers an 11-show ticket package priced at $175, including admission to one selected performance each night, concierge service and event merchandise. Altogether, the 11-day event's mix of concerts, free performances, an industry conference and curated packages reflects how far the series has come from its emergency 2021 origins — now one thread in a city that hosts more than 130 festivals annually, according to NewOrleans.com, alongside anchors like Mardi Gras, French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest.
