Fiddler's Green marks their debut album with a full-band celebration at Gasa Gasa on Sunday at 9 p.m. The New Orleans outfit leans into folk-rock and country storytelling, stacking harmonies over gritty guitars, organ, and a rhythm section built for barroom sway. Nine local players are packing the stage for this one, with Big Leather and The Glue setting the tone. It is a snapshot of the city's scrappy songwriter scene, loud, loose, and rooted in Americana tradition.

Freret Street's Gasa Gasa is a compact, art-forward room with a reliable sound system and a staff that actually cares about the mix. Capacity sits in the low hundreds, so energy moves fast from stage to floor. Sightlines are clean, the lights run moody, and there is always a back-patio breather between sets. It is a neighborhood spot that routinely punches above its weight with left-of-center rock, indie, and local album release nights.

Marlon Wayans brings stand-up built on sharp family stories and pop-culture pinpricks, the same fearless streak that powered White Chicks, Scary Movie, and his HBO special. He moves fast, riffs harder, and flips from physical bits to pointed social jabs without losing the laugh. Friday night at the Fillmore, it is Marlon at full throttle in a room big enough for the chaos but tight enough to catch every face he pulls.

The Fillmore New Orleans sits inside the casino on Canal Street, a modern hall with chandeliers, a roomy GA floor, and tiered rails that keep sightlines clean. The PA is tuned for punch and clarity, so comics land every word and rock shows hit with weight. Bars ring the room, service moves quickly, and the staff runs nights on schedule. It is a comfortable, big-night venue without dead corners.

Aurora Nealand's Inquiry Quintet celebrates a new recording with two intimate sets at 7:30 and 9:30. Nealand's sax, voice, and clarinet steer a band that treats early jazz DNA as fuel for adventurous forms, drifting into free improvisation without losing melody. The group thrives on quick interaction and bold textures, building pieces that feel composed in the moment yet deeply informed by New Orleans tradition.

Snug Harbor is Frenchmen Street's listening room standard. The music room is tight, seated, and tuned for nuance, so horn timbres and hushed dynamics read clearly from any chair. Table service is minimal inside, by design, which keeps focus on the band. The adjacent dining room handles the pre-show crowd with classic comfort and a steady hum, then it is straight into a focused set a few steps away.

Fantasia and Anthony Hamilton share the bill for a powerhouse R&B evening, two voices that carry gospel fire and Southern soul polish in equal measure. Fantasia runs brassy, athletic lines that soar, while Hamilton leans into grit, warmth, and church-bred phrasing. Together they cover decades of radio staples and deep cuts, trading bands and spotlights in a show built for big rooms and full-voice singalongs. Friday at 8 p.m.

UNO Lakefront Arena is the city's big bowl on the Gentilly campus, built for volume and spectacle. It handles arena-scale R&B and hip-hop as comfortably as college hoops, with wide concourses, straightforward parking, and production that fills the rafters. Sound spreads evenly when the floor is open, and the upper sides offer solid, less boomy listening. It is where touring stars bring full staging and lights.

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet brings the Cajun dancehall playbook to Mid-City, all fiddle fire, twin-step grooves, and swamp-pop sweetness. Doucet's bow work and French vocals ride an airtight rhythm section that can turn on a dime from waltz to two-step. Decades deep, the band still plays with curiosity, folding zydeco, Creole, and Tex-Mex colors into a set that feels like south Louisiana in full bloom.

Chickie Wah Wah is a cozy Canal Street listening room with good wood, a real dance pocket up front, and a soundboard that takes care of acoustic instruments. Tables line the room without killing the floor energy, and the bar keeps service friendly and unhurried. It is a Mid-City anchor for roots, songwriter nights, and bands that want fans close enough to hear the strings ring.

DJ Soul Sister throws her all-Michael Off The Wall party, running Jackson family grooves front to back on vinyl. A WWOZ lifer with crates for days, she blends disco, funk, boogie, and 80s R&B with the kind of precision only decades behind decks delivers. Costumes fly, deep cuts meet singalongs, and the dancefloor never lets up. It is a New Orleans institution wearing sequins and sneakers.

Tipitina's sits Uptown at Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas, a legendary, no-frills room where the floor heaves and the balcony watches the storm. The stage is wide, the PA loves bass and brass, and the posters nod to Professor Longhair and the city's funk lineage. Staff keeps the night moving, the bar lines churn, and the room rewards high-energy sets with a communal, sweat-soaked release.

The Get A Grip Tour hits Santos late with a left-field lineup. Chicago's Go Hang brings misanthropic industrial folk and punk theology, all barked poetry over scorched textures. Nashville's OmenBringer drops doom riffs in the Sabbath tradition, while New Orleans' Children of Judas rounds it out with vampwave shadows. It is a gritty, genre-clashing bill built for the small-room redline.

Santos Bar on Decatur is a brick-and-neon rock box that keeps it loud and up close. The stage sits a step off the floor, monitors scream, and the ceiling traps the heat in all the right ways for punk and metal. Drinks are stiff, sets run late, and the crowd presses tight to the front rail. It is a Quarter haunt that treats underground bands like headliners.

New Orleans Synth Cult returns with Modulation Sessions, a late-night of analog squelch and electro grooves. Oscillation Communications leans into cinematic synthwave, Tony Skratchere stitches turntablist flair into machine funk, and DJ Hum_Bruh carries the bass. It is a cozy lab for patch-cable heads and dancers who like their beats wiry and neon after dark.

The Den is the Howlin' Wolf's smaller side room in the Warehouse District, a low-stage lounge with a focused PA and a bar that stays on its toes. It is built for scene nights, vinyl sessions, and local showcases, with enough floor to move and enough seating to catch a breather. Easy access and a friendly door make it a reliable late-night hang.

Bassist Grayson Brockamp teams with pianist Kyle Roussel for a happy hour duo that snaps between deep-pocket swing, gospel turns, and modern harmony. Roussel's touch shifts from Booker grit to church sparkle, while Brockamp anchors and provokes with melodic lines. It is a rare free set at Snug Harbor, 4:30 to 6 p.m., and a sharp window into the city's current jazz conversation.

Snug's early shows change the room's feel. Daylight fades through Frenchmen, the audience leans in, and the sound crew keeps the dynamics intimate. The music room's close tables and controlled volume suit small ensembles, letting piano voicings and bass wood resonate. It is an ideal setup for a conversational duo.

Metalcore double header: Australia's The Amity Affliction and Pennsylvania stalwarts August Burns Red bring melody, muscle, and breakdown math in equal measure. Clean hooks collide with serrated screams, odd-meter chugs, and crowd-surge catharsis. It is the kind of co-headline built for circle pits and singalongs, early doors with a 6:30 p.m. start keeping the pace tight.

At the Fillmore, heavy music breathes. The room's tuned low end carries kick drums without mud, guitars slice, and vocals sit on top. Security is present but unobtrusive, bars are placed so the floor stays open, and sightlines hold even when the pit opens. It feels big-night polished while keeping club energy intact.