Tipitina’s, beloved New Orleans club and music mecca was, as always, the beating heart at the center of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festivals’ vast and vital nightlife activities this year. Not just its heart but its literal, physical home. As any band, from local acts to world wide icons, who visit the Crescent City during Jazz fest, or any other part of the year, will tell you, there are tons of clubs, theaters and even arenas you can play, but there’s only one Tipitina’s.

The “House that Professor Longhair built” might have started as a local joint for the fans, area bands, and, of course, the late great Henry Roeland Byrd, a.k.a. Professor Longhair, to whom this now hallowed hall is dedicated, could gather and kick out some funky jams, but it didn’t take long to become something much more. Pianist and master of all things keys, Professor Longhair was an area songwriter, composer, performer, and creator who originated much of the music and mystique that formed the signature sonic wavelength of the city.

The tunes Longhair and his generation of players crafted 60 and 70 years ago formed the bedrock of what has been built upon since by subsequent generations of artists like Dr. John, The Meters, the Neville Brothers, and Allen Toussaint, all the way to modern masters like Dumpstaphunk and, of course, the mighty funk collective and current owners of Tip’s itself, Galactic. “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” one of Professor Longhair’s signature songs, even serves as the soundtrack to Carnival every year.

It might have been an unnamed little hole-in-the-wall roadhouse founded in 1977 before being known for a short period as “The 501 Club” in a nod to its street address, 501 Napoleon Avenue, but once the venue adopted the name “Tipitina’s,” the legend truly began to form. After adopting the moniker “Tipitina’s” after one of The Professor’s more beloved compositions, the club graduated from funky roadhouse to home to the Nawlins sound itself. It’s never more apparent what a sought-after altar it is for players and in-the-know music fans than when artists and aficionados from all four corners of the world gather for the two-weekend New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

This year’s schedule of shows and events was as jam-packed as any other for Tipitina’s, including the last minute addition of an underplay by The Killers and multiple shows seemingly every night from twilight til dawn, and sometimes beyond.

When several parts of the economy took hard hits, hometown heroes and Tip’s all-stars Galactic stepped in and collectively bought the venue. When soon after the Covid pandemic struck, these savvy owners managed to persevere by embracing a number of different ways to make up the resulting revenue loss. Tip’s became a hub for remote live streams, a caterer, and, in the best sense, custodians of the city’s sound itself thanks to their new reprint record label, Tipitina’s Records and its monthly releases of past masterpieces. In essence, Galactic became the stewards, shepherds, and melody makers the city, its signature sound, and Tip’s needed and truly deserved.

Galactic has shown itself to be as dedicated to the local scene as possible. The band is always ready to let other area artists have a piece of the energy that permeates the very walls of the club. Surely the students of Trombone Shorty and the guests at his eponymous Shorty Fest charity drive will attest to the venerable vibe under Longhair’s roof. This year saw legendary cosmic jazz force The Sun Ra Arkestra, Galactic, and Shorty’s own band, as well as the children who are getting taught the Nawlins sound by its guardians, all share the stage for the annual event. You can watch all three hours plus of the heartwarming exchange of knowledge and musical baton to the literal future of the craft below.

Shortyfest – Tipitina’s – New Orleans, LA – 4/29

Dragon Smoke, a hometown hybrid of a pair of Galactic rhythm section Rob Mercurio on bass and Stanton Moore on drums, plus guitarist Eric Lindell and organist and Dumpstaphunk founder Ivan Neville, gather together for one of their infrequent gigs. Outside of Jazz Fest, it’s hard to get the guys in the same room, but when you do, you’ll find magic in the air and delighted fans everywhere you look. Check out some of their tasty opening jams below.

Dragon Smoke – Tipitina’s – New Orleans, LA – 4/30

Neal Francis, upstart singer-songwriter, might not have been Nawlins bred by heritage. but the city’s sonic lifeblood runs strong in his veins and rings in every note he plays. His two shows at Tip’s resulted in some stellar music moments, including the two clips below.

Neal Francis – “Rock The Casbah” – 5/3/24

Neal Francis – “Don’t Call Me No More” – 5/4/24

Karl Denson, sax guru for everyone from his own band, The Tiny Universe, to the legendary Rolling Stones, whose own show set the city on fire, never lets a visit to town go by without dropping in for a show or two at Tip’s. You can see some of his melodic madness in the clip below, and scroll to the end of the article for a gallery of images from Denson’s show courtesy of photographer Kory Thibeault.

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe – “B for my Name”, “Biggest Fan” – 5/3/24

Speaking of bands that always throw down when in town, a couple of rarely sighted supergroups, The Daze Between Band and FiyaPowa! both threw down remarkable sets on the hallowed Tip’s stage. The Daze Between Band had a jaw-dropping lineup featuring its creator and curator, Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno, along with his gathering of John Scofield, Chuck Leavell, bassist for The Meters George Porter Jr., Duane Betts, Dumpstaphuk’s Ivan Neville and Tony Hall, Trey Anastasio Band trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, Lettuce sax whiz Ryan Zoidis, and drummer Raymond Weber. Read L4LM‘s full recap of the show here.

Daze Between Band Ft. Duane Betts & Chuck Leavell – “Jessica” – 5/1/24

The piecemeal superstars that rotate through the FiyaPowa! jam collective returned to drop some exploratory, funky, free-form jams for the more musically adventurous fans in the city. This year saw a fusion of elements from Dumpstaphunk including Ivan and Ian Neville and the band’s epic horn section Alex Wasily and Ashlin Parker alongside Tony Hall and members of Galactic. You can watch the melding of that funky titanic twosome in the clip below.

FiyaPowa! – Tipitina’s – New Orleans, LA – 5/6/24

Of course Galactic wasn’t going to let the weekend go by without tooting their own horn, or, in their cases, horns. Saxophonist Ben Ellman, trumpeter Eric Gordon, the aforementioned Moore and Mercurio, organist Rich Vogel, and guitarist Jeff Raines did what they’ve been doing at Tipitina’s for more than two decades now as a group and half a decade as proprietors—funking the stage up til dawn. Now joined by one-woman hype machine Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph on vocals, Galactic had to be sure to not just keep their insane run of stellar performances during Jazz Fest alive but to remind everyone in ear shot that Longhair’s house has new, true proprietors.

Galactic – “Dolla Diva” – 5/3/24

Though Jazz Fest might seem like all fun and games, this year had a pall that permeated all the many joyous gatherings. The local music scene was rocked by the sudden, devastating loss of Nick Daniels III, bassist and co-founder of Dumpstaphunk. It was a true testament to his impact on the scene that his loss echoed through every show mentioned above and many, many more. From Tipitina’s to the other storied hot spots like The Saenger and Joy Theaters, clubs like the Toulouse Theatre, The Howlin’ Wolf, The Blue Nile and so on the world was a little less funky. That said, as Nick would have absolutely wanted, the show went on, in his name and spirit. Dumpstaphunk had one of their many scheduled appearances, fittingly one of the last of the weekend, at Tip’s, and you can watch opening highlights below.

Dumpstaphunk – “Street Parade” – 5/5/24

In the big picture, it’s just a small, walled-in space with limited sight-lines, but Tipitina’s was infused from its very origins by the sense and sensibilities of New Orleans, and Professor Longhair’s home has evolved into a touchstone for followers of the brand of brassy, funky music that can only be found in the Crescent City. Any musical pilgrimage to New Orleans that doesn’t include a visit to Tipitina’s is simply not complete. Stop by and say hi and you’ll find out why they say, “We Love ’em Tonight!”