New Orleans Rocktober Music Preview

The annual Voodoo Experience takes place in City Park October 30 and 31 and November 1.

March, April and May get tons of well-deserved attention for being in the heart of New Orleans spring festival season, and it’s hard to compete with the events like Hogs for the Cause, Buku, Wednesday at the Square, French Quarter Fest and that thing they call “Jazz Fest.”

However, each October brings the most consistent (on a night-by-night basis) schedule of nationally touring acts, arriving in a flurry to perform at the numerous venues around town. Fall in the Big Easy has always been an exciting time for live music fanatics, and in recent years, the autumnal windfall has only grown larger for several reasons.

First, the annual Austin City Limits festival has been expanded to two weekends, which has encouraged many of the big names playing in Austin to take a quick detour to Nola in the interim between these two weekends. Subsequently, artists such as Disclosure, Alt-J, Dwight Yoakam and Billy Idol can conveniently stop by on their way to a big payday in ATX.

Second, with the openings of several new, local music venues like the Civic, Gasa Gasa, The Orpheum, Joy, The Saenger, Champions Square and Carver Theater within the last few years, there are the city can not only accommodate more performances but also those of a larger size.

Third, October isn’t short on special, one-off events, such as the long-running Ponderosa Stomp, The Preservation Hall Ball and the annual Voodoo Experience, each attracting hordes of out-of-town music fans to the city this month.

For the reasons above, music fans should feast their eyes on the (abridged) schedule below and hopefully be able to find a show or two (or ten) to appease their ears. Finally, the picks below are just the tip of the iceberg, check the local WWOZ show schedule to see what local acts are keeping the city’s unmatched local scene going strong and let us know in the comments who you plan to see during this glorious Rocktober 2015 in the Big Easy.

Weekend of October 1 – October 4

R. Scully’s Rough 7

Ponderosa Stomp at Rock N’ Bowl Mid-City Lanes (10/1, 10/2 and 10/3)
Houndmouth at Tipitina’s Uptown (10/1)
The London Souls at Maple Leaf Bar (10/1 – EARLY SHOW)
Albert Hammond Jr. at One Eyed Jacks (10/2)
Gretna Heritage Festival (10/2 – 10/4)
Beach House and Flock of Dimes at The Civic Theatre (10/2)
Run The Jewels at Republic (10/3)
Preservation Hall Ball at The Civic (10/3)
R. Scully’s Rough 7 and Happy Talk Band at (10/3)
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at House of Blues (10/3)
Run The Jewels at Republic New Orleans (10/3)

Week of October 5 – October 11

Disclosure at Mardi Gras World (10/6)
FIDLAR at One Eyed Jacks (10/6)
MuteMath at Gasa Gasa (10/6)
Rubblebucket at One Eyed Jacks (10/7)
​Alt-J and San Fermin at Champions Square (10/7)
MuteMath at Gasa Gasa (10/7)
A$AP Rocky, Danny Brown and Tyler, The Creator at Champion’s Square (10/8)​
Twin Shadow at Republic (10/8)
Ghost and Purson at Civic Theatre (10/8)
Danzig at The Civic Theatre (10/9)
Vintage Trouble at Tipitina’s (10/9)
Parquet Courts at One Eyed Jacks (10/9)
Moon Taxi at The Civic Theatre (10/10)
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood (10/10)
Dwight Yoakam at Orpheum (10/10)
Borgore at Republic (10/11)

Week of October 12 – October 18

Leon Bridges at Tipitina’s (10/12)
Toro Y Moi at Republic (10/13)
Painted Palms, Small Black at Gasa Gasa (10/14)
Tony Joe White at Chickie Wah Wah (10/14)
Fruition at Cafe Istanbul (10/14)
Lake Street Dive and The Congress (10/14)
Battles at Republic (10/15)
Jackson Browne at Saenger Theatre (10/15)
Red Baraat (10/16)
Mac Demarco at The Civic Theatre (10/17)
Mike Watt at One Eyed Jacks (10/17)
Drive-By Truckers at The Civic Theatre (10/17)
Justin Townes Earle at Tipitina’s Uptown (10/18)
ALO with Yojimbo at One Eyed Jacks (10/18)

Week of October 19 – October 25

The Districts at Hi Ho Lounge (10/23)
Tobias Jesso Jr. at One Eyed Jacks (10/23)
Futurebirds at One Eyed Jacks (10/24)
Dopapod and The Nth Power at Tipitina’s Uptown (10/24)

Week of October 26 – November 1

Bob Moses at Hi-Ho Lounge (10/28)
Reptar at Gasa Gasa (10/28)
Odesza at Joy Theater (10/30)
The Growlers at One Eyed Jacks (10/30)

Voodoo Music Experience w/ Modest Mouse, Jason Isbell, Lettuce, Santigold, Growlers, Django Django, Third Eye Blind and More (10, 30, 10/31 & 11/1)

Mastodon w/ Corrosion of Conformity at The Civic Theatre (10/31)