Catch some of the best local musicians, live performances, and gumbo at Prime Example, located on the edge of the Seventh Ward and Gentilly. The Broad Street venue is intimate and laid back but with an aura of gravitas, as you might rub elbows with other musicians, jazz experts, and generally those with good taste.

The cool and cultivated Whiskey and Sticks on Bayou Road is a lounge in every sense, offering a great vibe, premium liquors, a nice selection of cigars, and cigar rolling classes. Memberships are available though not required to visit.

This vibrant South 7th Ward spot is a good ole’ Southern juke joint with a New Orleans twist. With an age requirement of 30, it’s a great place to catch music, nightlife, charbroiled oysters, and good drinks with a mature crowd.

Treme Hideaway is a neighborhood gathering spot with a unique and soulful atmosphere where local and national artists alike perform regularly. Great chargrilled oysters, crawfish, and basically all things shellfish.

This neighborhood wine shop on Touro Street is a true gem, with an extra hidden layer in the form of a backroom bar and outdoor courtyard beyond the shop. The shop itself is cozy, with large living room furniture and a big screen TV. Tasting every Friday; afterwards step into the back and get lost for hours in good times.

This Frenchmen Street club just outside the French Quarter has been providing some of the best live jazz to locals and visitors for over 30 years. It has a casual dining area, bar, and stage, with the best seats upstairs on the balcony. 

Open for a little over a year, Kermit Ruffins’ newest music destination is already popular in Holy Cross and attracting visitors beyond the neighborhood. It’s the hidden counterpart to Kermit’s beloved Mother-in-Law Lounge.

This iconic Ninth Ward bar was established in 1959 and has been known throughout the years as the place to be for live music on Thursday Nights — once Kermit Ruffins, the night is now Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet’s. Vaughan’s delivers cheap drinks, good music, and the kind of welcome that you hope for at a hangout.

Oak is a classy spot Uptown wine bar with nearly a hundred hand-selected bottles and crafty bartenders in a clean and crisp atmosphere. Low-key but buzzing, you can catch live music here on the weekend and still be able to converse with your company.

Snake & Jakes is basically a shack lit up with Christmas lights and known as New Orleans’s most legendary dive bar. This is a late night bar through and through, staying lively until the early hours of the morning and not opening again until much later.

Not to be confused with its sister restaurant The Delachaise, this charming wine bar and bistro all the way Uptown on Maple Street is a haven. It serves fresh food like Gulf seafood bouillabaisse, grilled octopus, and North African boulettes, and offers an extensive global wine list.

Le Bon Temps is a longtime Uptown music and dive bar staple, with musicians like Kermit Ruffins, the Soul Rebels, and Anders Osborne getting their start here. Catch the Soul Rebels every Thursday night at midnight.