Preservation Hall Foundation

The Preservation Hall Foundation was launched in 2011 to protect, preserve and perpetuate the musical traditions and heritage of New Orleans. Through music education, live performances, academic research, archiving, multimedia projects, collaborations, and promotional campaigns, the Preservation Hall Foundation creates greater awareness and appreciation for New Orleans music and the communities that support it.

At Preservation Hall, the term “traditional” is taken quite literally; the older generation teaches the music to the younger musicians, and from them to their successors. The facilitation of this tradition passing is fundamental - whether it’s played during celebrations at Mardi Gras, or during the burial of loved ones in New Orleans funeral ceremonies, or for audiences worldwide, Traditional New Orleans Jazz serves not only as a vital component of New Orleans culture but also represents a historical lineage to the earliest forms of jazz itself.

“Preservation Hall means many things to many people: veteran New Orleans jazzmen blowing their hearts out every night in a creaky room in the French Quarter; bands of these doughty pioneers constantly touring the world; a steady championing of the original style of the 20th century’s most distinctive artform; old dreams exploding into fresh life...”   
-William Carter, from “Preservation Hall”