The Roots of Music is throwing its second annual Home Sweet Home Gala on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, at 7 p.m., and this time the celebration happens on ground the nonprofit actually owns. The event unfolds at the organization's campus at 5029 Louisa Drive in New Orleans, with soul singer Tonya Boyd-Cannon, a standout from NBC's The Voice, set to perform.
The gala announcement comes from New Orleans Magazine, which reports that Sazerac House will serve as the gala's official beverage partner. The event benefits The Roots of Music's ongoing work with New Orleans youth, and organizers describe sponsorship packages that include event recognition, access to an exclusive patron party, and gala tickets. The nonprofit has supported local youth through music for nearly two decades, according to the magazine, and it previously operated in 11 shared and borrowed spaces across the city before establishing permanent roots in Gentilly Woods.
From a Drum Camp to a Permanent Home
The Roots of Music traces its origins to 2007, when Grammy Award winner Derrick Tabb founded the organization in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. What started as a drum camp has since grown into a comprehensive youth-development organization serving young people from early childhood through young adulthood, aiming to empower them through music education, academic support, and mentorship while preserving the city's musical and cultural heritage, per the magazine's account.
That early camp grew fast. Tabb told New Orleans and Company that 42 kids showed up the first day, and within two weeks more than 100 were coming to Tipitina's. The organization now provides more than 2,500 hours of music education and academic tutoring, more than 30,400 hot meals, 1,400 bus journeys, and more than 150 instruments, the outlet reports, and none of it costs participating families anything.
A Permanent Campus After Years of Moving
For years, the organization lacked a true home. OffBeat Magazine reported that the program relocated roughly ten times, operating out of borrowed, donated, and leased facilities in neighborhoods like Uptown, the Marigny, and Tremé — a figure that New Orleans Magazine instead put at 11 shared and borrowed spaces, a discrepancy neither outlet resolved. What both accounts agree on is the outcome: in June 2025, the organization closed on a multi-structure property in Gentilly Woods, the former site of St. Gabriel Catholic Church, with support from an anonymous donor, according to OffBeat's reporting.
That purchase marked the first time in the organization's history that it would operate out of a space it owns, the same report notes. The Roots of Music is now transforming that campus into a student-centered home with classrooms, music practice spaces, recording and podcast production areas, performance space, and an instrument repair shop, and the nonprofit says it is running a capital campaign, themed Our Roots. Their Legacy, to improve the campus, expand programs, and build long-term sustainability.
What the Gala Has Looked Like Before
Last year's gathering, held Nov. 14, 2025, at St. Gabriel the Archangel Church, was billed as an annual gala and homecoming celebration featuring food and drink, live music, and a silent auction benefiting Roots' programs, according to The Roots of Music. That night included performances by the Marching Crusaders and the Studio Academy band alongside special guests. An earlier fundraiser, the Big 15 Gala, was held at The Sazerac House with a patron party followed by the main event, featuring student performances, The Nayo Jones Experience, and a second line led by Re-Creations Brass Band, plus food and beverages by Messina's and a silent auction, per OffBeat's coverage at the time.
The organization currently runs its programming across three tiers — Sprouts of Music, the Marching Crusader Band, and The Roots Studio Academy — according to WWOZ New Orleans, which also notes the program serves kids aged 3 to 18. That broader range sits alongside an earlier description from New Orleans and Company, in which Tabb said at the time that all of the organization's kids were 9 to 14 years old; expanding to include younger children and getting into the school system were cited then as major goals. The Roots of Music says music has the power to transform lives, and its programming has picked up recognition over the years, including the Arhoolie Award and the Adolf Busch Award, plus a finalist nod for The Lewis Prize, according to the organization's own account.
