Tipitina's

Tipitina's is a concert hall and music club at 501 Napoleon Avenue in the Uptown district of New Orleans, Louisiana, on the corner of Tchoupitoulas Street. Opened in the late 1970s, it was named after Professor Longhair's song Tipitina and was founded in part as a home for the pianist and the rhythm-and-blues tradition he shaped, and a bronze bust of Professor Longhair is a fixture of the building. It is one of the best-known music rooms in the city, built as a standing-room hall with a raised stage, a sizeable dance floor, balcony levels and bars on more than one level. The programme covers funk, rhythm and blues, rock, brass band, jam and Cajun or zydeco acts, with a mix of local favourites, touring bands and special annual events, and shows are mostly in the evening with late sets on weekends. Tickets typically cost about US$15 to US$50 depending on the act, with higher prices for national headliners, and advance online purchase is common for popular shows; smaller weeknight bookings can be cheaper or sometimes lower in cover. The drinks programme is a bar-style one, with draft beer, spirits, simple cocktails and bottled drinks at moderate prices, and food is limited. The crowd is varied: locals who follow the city's bands, university students from nearby campuses, visitors who want a major New Orleans venue and fans of touring artists, mainly adults in their twenties to fifties. Dress is casual, and the atmosphere is big, loud and dance-friendly, particularly late in the evening when the dance floor fills. Entry requires ID for drinking, and the door is generally relaxed beyond bag checks and capacity limits. The venue is not designed for reservations; tickets are the entry, though special events may offer reserved areas. It sits a short distance from the Garden District and the Mississippi riverfront, reachable by streetcar and a short ride or walk, and many visitors combine a show with dinner on nearby Magazine Street. Late at night, rideshare or taxi is the practical way back to the French Quarter.