Songe Music Tours
New Orleans, Louisiana
Trip Type: Walking Tours
Duration: 2 hours
A 2.5 hour small group walking tour of the French Quarter and Treme neighborhood. Through facts, stories, photographs and recorded music, tour guide Jason Songe shows how New Orleans gave birth to jazz and rock n' roll. Listen to Jason's curated playlist and see, through his iPad, the many rarely seen photographs of local people and places: Congo Square, Louis Armstrong, J&M Studios, Fats Domino, Preservation Hall, Harry Connick Jr, French Opera House, Louis Prima, Sidney Bechet, and Bourbon Street.
Jason's family has been in Louisiana since 1780, and he has been promoting local concerts and writing local concert reviews since 2003. Along with local music stories, Jason also offers recommendations for live music and general city history.
Jason's family has been in Louisiana since 1780, and he has been promoting local concerts and writing local concert reviews since 2003. Along with local music stories, Jason also offers recommendations for live music and general city history.
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A 2.5 hour small group walking tour of the French Quarter and Treme neighborhood. Through facts, stories, photographs and recorded music, tour guide Jason Songe shows how New Orleans gave birth to jazz and rock n' roll. Listen to Jason's curated playlist and see, through his iPad, the many rarely seen photographs of local people and places: Congo Square, Louis Armstrong, J&M Studios, Fats Domino, Preservation Hall, Harry Connick Jr, French Opera House, Louis Prima, Sidney Bechet, and Bourbon Street.
Jason's family has been in Louisiana since 1780, and he has been promoting local concerts and writing local concert reviews since 2003. Along with local music stories, Jason also offers recommendations for live music and general city history.The tour begins at Addiction Coffeehouse at 909 Iberville Street in the French Quarter. The tour walks down to Bourbon Street, where it takes a left towards Esplanade Avenue. Jason explains how Bourbon Street is zoned and gives a short history of the street before continuing to the Famous Door, the oldest music venue on Bourbon Street. Jason speaks about piano prodigy Harry Connick Jr. and his history with The Famous Door. The journey continues to the site of the French Opera House, the first opera house in America. Next Jason visits what was The Ivanhoe Piano Bar, where funk group The Meters got their start. Jason plays hip-hop songs that sample Meters music. The tour then turns off of Bourbon onto St. Peter Street, where it visits Preservation Hall. Jason tells the history of the Hall and then continues into Jackson Square, where he gives a basic history of the city and talks about St. Louis Cathedral. Jason tells the tale of a Catholic priest who let the city burn in 1794. Jason walks out of the square and continues along Chartres Street until the tour reaches the former home of Danny Barker, who sparked the brass band rebirth in the '70's. Jason next walks along Chartres until Gov. Nicholls Street, where he takes a right to visit the site of Cosimo Matassa's recording studio. Here he explains the connection between Brad Pitt and Little Richard. The tour then returns to Chartres until it comes upon the site of Kingsway Studios on Esplanade Avenue. Kingsway housed Pearl Jam, REM, Sheryl Crow, and many others during the '90's. The tour continues along Esplanade until it reaches what was Italian Hall, where Jimmie Rodgers, the father of the country genre, recorded music. Next we take a left onto N. Rampart Street, where we continue until we reach the site of J&M Studios, where Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded. From here we cross Rampart and move into Armstrong Park and Congo Square, where jazz began. The park is the climax of the tour. There Jason speaks about Mardi Gras Indian music, French opera, Buddy Bolden, Sidney Bechet, and the queen of Gospel music, Mahalia Jackson. The tour ends after Jason tells a story about Louis Armstrong discovering his instrument in a home for juvenile delinquents.
More about Jason and the tour:
Tour guide Jason Songe has written over 1,000 concert reviews for LiveNewOrleans.com since 2003. As a concert promoter he has also booked over 1,000 concerts in New Orleans since 2004. Jason has lived in New Orleans his whole life, and his family has lived in Louisiana since 1780.
The tour leaves every Thursday and Friday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Jason's family has been in Louisiana since 1780, and he has been promoting local concerts and writing local concert reviews since 2003. Along with local music stories, Jason also offers recommendations for live music and general city history.The tour begins at Addiction Coffeehouse at 909 Iberville Street in the French Quarter. The tour walks down to Bourbon Street, where it takes a left towards Esplanade Avenue. Jason explains how Bourbon Street is zoned and gives a short history of the street before continuing to the Famous Door, the oldest music venue on Bourbon Street. Jason speaks about piano prodigy Harry Connick Jr. and his history with The Famous Door. The journey continues to the site of the French Opera House, the first opera house in America. Next Jason visits what was The Ivanhoe Piano Bar, where funk group The Meters got their start. Jason plays hip-hop songs that sample Meters music. The tour then turns off of Bourbon onto St. Peter Street, where it visits Preservation Hall. Jason tells the history of the Hall and then continues into Jackson Square, where he gives a basic history of the city and talks about St. Louis Cathedral. Jason tells the tale of a Catholic priest who let the city burn in 1794. Jason walks out of the square and continues along Chartres Street until the tour reaches the former home of Danny Barker, who sparked the brass band rebirth in the '70's. Jason next walks along Chartres until Gov. Nicholls Street, where he takes a right to visit the site of Cosimo Matassa's recording studio. Here he explains the connection between Brad Pitt and Little Richard. The tour then returns to Chartres until it comes upon the site of Kingsway Studios on Esplanade Avenue. Kingsway housed Pearl Jam, REM, Sheryl Crow, and many others during the '90's. The tour continues along Esplanade until it reaches what was Italian Hall, where Jimmie Rodgers, the father of the country genre, recorded music. Next we take a left onto N. Rampart Street, where we continue until we reach the site of J&M Studios, where Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded. From here we cross Rampart and move into Armstrong Park and Congo Square, where jazz began. The park is the climax of the tour. There Jason speaks about Mardi Gras Indian music, French opera, Buddy Bolden, Sidney Bechet, and the queen of Gospel music, Mahalia Jackson. The tour ends after Jason tells a story about Louis Armstrong discovering his instrument in a home for juvenile delinquents.
More about Jason and the tour:
Tour guide Jason Songe has written over 1,000 concert reviews for LiveNewOrleans.com since 2003. As a concert promoter he has also booked over 1,000 concerts in New Orleans since 2004. Jason has lived in New Orleans his whole life, and his family has lived in Louisiana since 1780.
The tour leaves every Thursday and Friday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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