City seizes the blighted Buddy Bolden house, NOLA.com reports

The city seized the blighted Central City shotgun where legendary jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden once lived, stating the owner, Greater St. Stephen Ministries, let fines for minimum property maintenance pile up unpaid, Doug MacCash reports on NOLA.com. Grammy winning musician PJ Morton, the son of the St. Stephen pastors, announced plans in 2019 to renovate the Bolden house at 2309-11 First St. and a twin shotgun double next door into a museum and community recording studio, but has allowed it to deteriorate for years.

Oak Street Po-Boy Festival is back, with music on four stages and a truck

After a two-year absence, the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival, the popular event celebrating New Orleans’ beloved sandwich, will return Sunday (Nov. 6). The 14th annual festival will host more than 40 food vendors, four stages of music (plus a piano truck stage), an arts market and kids zone. The 2022 festival will also highlight the history of the po-boy with special programming and events, organizers said in a press release. ​The festival traditionally features a po-boy competition, where local restaurants battle for top honors.

Broadmoor Fest offers full musical lineup at ‘neighborhood extravaganza’

Broadmoor Fest will bring live music, local foods, children’s activities and more to the Broadmoor neighborhood on Saturday (Oct. 1). Broadmoor Community Church is presenting the free one-day festival. It will feature performances by T Marie & Bayou Ju Ju, Sharon Martin, Righteous Wrong, the Jackson Square Allstars and the Broadmoor Community Church Praise Team. The festival will be held on the church grounds at 2021 S. Dupre St.

Second Line Arts Collective: Music Education from Recess to Record Deals (sponsored)

In 2016, professional musicians Darrian Douglas and Gregory Agid were perplexed. New Orleans is a world renowned music city- Why were so many local musicians struggling to make ends meet? They soon discovered that many artists were lacking business skills and too often were depending on playing endless gigs to pay the bills. 88% of musicians they surveyed had zero music business exposure throughout high school or college. They decided to change the narrative by founding Second Line Arts Collective, a music education nonprofit for aspiring artists to grow their industry skills and knowledge base.

Redevelopment of the famed Dew Drop Inn is officially underway

Officials gathered in Central City on Thursday (July 7) to officially break ground on the restoration of the famed Dew Drop Inn, the city’s leading Black music venue for three mid-century decades. The groundbreaking was complemented by performances from the Beautiful Creole Apache Tribe and Cyril Neville. Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said the city is working to redevelop the section of Central City where the Dew Drop Inn Hotel & Lounge at 2836 LaSalle St. can serve as an anchor. “The city of New Orleans is making sure we’re leveraging our dollars in this immediate area,” she said.