Musicians' Village is a neighborhood located in the Upper
Ninth Ward in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. Musicians
Harry Connick, Jr. and
Branford Marsalis teamed up with
Habitat for Humanity International and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity to create the village for New Orleans musicians who lost their homes to
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
.
Per February 2007, the Musicians' Village is "the largest-scale, highest-profile, and biggest-budget rebuilding project to have gotten underway in New Orleans post-Katrina.
Planning
The idea of bringing music back to New Orleans was popular, and by September 2006 the entire area, including the Baptist Crossroads project, was known and referred to as Musicians' Village.
Construction
Keys to the first three houses were given on June 1, 2006. New homeowners Fredy Omar con su Banda and Jerome Deleno "J.D." Hill - with "J.D. and the Jammers" - played for the 300 or more people who had gathered for the dedication ceremony and party.
Politicians
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
,
Kathleen Blanco,
Ray Nagin and
Bill Jefferson volunteered at the Musicians' Village on April 27, 2006. They put on tool belts and hoisted triangular roof beam sections up to workers scampering across the wooden skeletons of new houses. Then they went inside the framework, talked with individual volunteers, before Nagin and Bush climbed up and started hammering nails handed up to them by Blanco and Jefferson.
Hootie & The Blowfish brought their band and crew to New Orleans for five days of building houses, on October 16–20, 2006. Former president
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
worked in December 2006.
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
took part in painting a home, held discussions, received a tour of the area and was entertained with music by J.D. Hill.
Karekin II
Catholicos Garegin II (, also spelled Karekin; born 21 August 1951) is the Catholicos of All Armenians, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, since 1999. In 2013 he was unanimously elected the Oriental Orthodox head of the World Cou ...
, leader of the
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...
, helped build a home on October 17, 2007, and senator
John Edwards
Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...
helped on January 30, 2008.
Ellis Marsalis Center for Music
A centerpiece of the village is the
Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, dedicated to celebrating the music and musicians of New Orleans and to the education and development of homeowners and others who live nearby. The center features indoor and outdoor performance spaces as well as practice rooms and classrooms. The center has 51 off-street parking spaces. The center will be managed by the nonprofit foundation New Orleans Habitat Musicians Village Inc. The two-story center contains a 170-seat theater and performance hall with movable seats, including dressing and practice rooms. A courtyard with a retractable roof will be between this center and a smaller community center that will contain meeting rooms, offices, classrooms and a community Internet room. Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis have been "heavily involved in the design process" of the center, according to Jim Pate.
In April 2007, the plans for the building won approval from the City Planning Commission. Engineers began
grading the site in May, 2007. The groundbreaking was kicked off on September 13, 2007, with a celebration that included performances from
Bob French and the Original Tuxedo Band and Shamarr Allen Combo, with guest artists
Harry Connick Jr. and
Branford Marsalis sitting in. The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music opened at the end of August 2011 in New Orleans's Upper 9th Ward.
Fundraising events
*New Orleans artist Fredrick Guess Studio and Café Amelie — special gallery opening and benefit. Sunday, April 9, 2006
*German ''Seaside Jazzmen'' — a
Dixieland
Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...
band from
Norden
Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to:
Places England
* Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane
* Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle
* Norden, Greater Manchester, a vill ...
- benefit concert. March 2006
*
Ellis Marsalis — "Musicians Village" fundraiser in
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, March 24, 2006.
*The
Washington DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
music community - concert ''From the Beltway to the Bayou'' featuring Eric Hilton from the
Thievery Corporation, KidGusto, and DC area Dj's and musicians, on March 27, 2006.
*Funk jam band Electronik Church announced Feb. 27, 2006, a nationwide music tour for the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village.
*
KFOG — (San Francisco / San Jose) announced a promotion to benefit New Orleans Habitat during
Mardi Gras weekend 2006.
*
Gregg Stafford (trumpeter), joins the Heritage Hall Jazz Band and Jewel Brown (former Louis Armstrong vocalist) for a fundraiser February 18, 2006 in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
.
*Chairman of
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
Universal, Bob Wright made a major personal contribution, enough to build an entire house.
*
The Click Five — proceeds from selling limited edition, glossy photos on tour over six months, and proceeds from a pre-Mardi Gras concert sponsored by local radio station B97, on February 27, 2006.
*''
The Pajama Game
''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell.
The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his chor ...
'', starring
Harry Connick Jr
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and former television host. As of 2019, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 List of best-sel ...
with
Kelli O'Hara &
Michael McKean
Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician. Over his career he has received a Grammy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
...
- 5 benefit performances. (Proceeds will benefit the ''Actors' Fund of America'', the ''New Orleans Habitat Musician's Village'', and the ''Roundabout's Education Program and Musical Theatre Fund''.) June 13-17th, 2006.
*
Ivan Neville
Ivan Neville (born August 19, 1959) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to the other members of The Neville Brothers.
Career
Neville has released four solo albums and ...
and his group Dumpstaphunk - benefit in
Auburn, Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn metropolitan area, Alabama, Aubu ...
, on April 19, 2006.
*
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band (also known as DMB) is an American rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia. The band's lineup consists of Dave Matthews (lead vocals, guitar), Stefan Lessard (bass), Carter Beauford (drums), Tim Reynolds (lead guitar), R ...
— $1.5
million
1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the ...
dollars challenge grant. Contributions will be matched dollar for dollar through the grant, raising the total donation potential to $3 million. April 26, 2006.
Albums
*Funds raised through recordings such as ''
Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now'', and ''
Our New Orleans: A Benefit for the Gulf Coast'', benefit the project.
*Alex Pangman & Colonel Tom Parker of the Backstabbers - proceeds from a
78 rpm recording, and proceeds from the Record Release Party, in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
*A portion of the royalties of Harry Connick Jr's albums ''
Oh, My NOLA'' and ''
Chanson du Vieux Carre'' will be donated to Musicians' Village, including all royalties from the CD single "
All These People".
*An independent music label, Sugarfoot Music, has released a
double-disc called ''
For New Orleans'' (full name: ''For New Orleans: A Benefit For The Musicians' Village Habitat For Humanity''). The artists are donating 100% of the profits to the Musicians' Village. Thirteen of the 30 tracks are previously unreleased. The album includes
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...
's unreleased recording of "
I Shall Be Released" (sung over the phone on live radio).
*All proceeds from the sale of The Marsalis Family's ''Music Redeems'' goes directly to educational programming at the
Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.
Awards
In 2010, the founders of the Village were awarded the
Honor Award by the
National Building Museum for their work in civic innovation and community development.
In 2012, Connick and Marsalis received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, an award given out annually by
Jefferson Awards.
See also
*
Habitat for Humanity International
*
Ninth Ward of New Orleans
References
External links
{{Commons category, Musicians Village, New Orleans
Musicians' Village official site a
Habitat for Humanity New OrleansEllis Marsalis Center For Music
Funk
Geography of New Orleans
Habitat for Humanity
Harry Connick Jr.
Hurricane Katrina recovery in New Orleans
Jazz culture
Music of New Orleans
Music venues in Louisiana
Rhythm and blues