Maple Leaf Bar

Maple Leaf Bar is a bar, nightclub, and live-performance venue at 8316 Oak Street in New Orleans’ Carrollton neighborhood. Opened on February 24, 1974, it became one of the city’s longest continuously operating music clubs and has presented live performances on a near-daily basis across multiple generations of New Orleans musicians. Although it operates as a bar, its public identity is principally tied to music, especially the city’s interconnected traditions of jazz, blues, funk, rhythm and blues, rock, zydeco, and improvisational jam music. The venue began its musical life with Andrew Hall’s Society Jazz Band performing on opening night. The band subsequently held a Saturday residency for approximately seven years, helping establish the club as a dependable home for live music rather than an occasional concert room. The Maple Leaf also hosted older New Orleans performers, including musicians associated with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, while developing relationships with younger artists and student bands from Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, and the University of New Orleans. This combination of established performers and emerging local acts contributed to the venue’s role as an incubator within the city’s music community. Over time, the Maple Leaf’s stage became associated with artists including James Booker, Rebirth Brass Band, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Henry Butler, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Papa Grows Funk, and The Radiators. In more recent periods, recurring appearances and residencies have included Tank and the Bangas, The Revivalists, George Porter Jr., Jon Cleary, and Johnny Vidacovich. George Porter Jr. has continued a Monday-night residency with his trio, featuring Terrence Houston and Michael “Goldenthroat” Lemmler, reinforcing the venue’s reputation for regular, relationship-based programming rather than only one-off touring shows. The Maple Leaf’s cultural role extends beyond concerts. It has hosted poetry readings, fashion shows, and events connected with the Krewe of OAK, whose parades begin and end at the venue and whose Krewe Ball is held there. Poet Everette Maddox had an especially close association with the bar; his ashes are interred in its patio area. The venue has also appeared in or been referenced by literary works, including a fictionalized treatment in an Ellen Gilchrist short story and poems by several writers. Anthologies bearing the Maple Leaf Rag name further reflect the club’s place in New Orleans’ literary and music culture. The venue received national attention after Hurricane Katrina. It closed for several weeks after the storm while owner Hank Staples remained in New Orleans to protect the bar and other properties. On September 30, 2005, Walter “Wolfman” Washington performed the Maple Leaf’s first post-Katrina show. The event used a diesel generator because power had not yet returned to much of the city, drew substantial crowds and media attention, and was ultimately halted by police and National Guard personnel enforcing the city’s curfew. Although other musicians disputed descriptions of the event as New Orleans’ first post-Katrina public performance, it became an important symbol of the city’s musical reopening. The Maple Leaf’s performances have also generated a recorded legacy. Live albums associated with the venue include releases by James Booker, Rebirth Brass Band, Papa Grows Funk, Joe Krown with Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Russell Batiste Jr., New Orleans Suspects, and The Rumble. The 2023 release Live from the Maple Leaf by The Rumble received a Grammy nomination. Through its venue programming, community events, literary associations, and recorded performances, the Maple Leaf remains a recognizable institution in New Orleans’ live-music ecosystem.

The Maple Leaf Bar opened on February 24, 1974, at 8316 Oak Street in New Orleans’ Carrollton neighborhood. Its opening-night performance was supplied by Andrew Hall’s Society Jazz Band, which then appeared every Saturday for roughly seven years. This early schedule helped establish the Maple Leaf as a dedicated music venue and gave it continuity within a city whose musical life is strongly organized around recurring club engagements. During its early decades, the Maple Leaf presented established New Orleans musicians as well as members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and other traditional performers. Its programming gradually broadened beyond jazz to include blues, funk, rhythm and blues, rock, zydeco, and jam-band music. The club also became a useful platform for younger musicians, including bands formed by students at Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, and the University of New Orleans. This mixture of local tradition, student experimentation, and professional residencies became central to the venue’s identity. Artists associated with the Maple Leaf have included James Booker, Rebirth Brass Band, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Henry Butler, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Papa Grows Funk, and The Radiators. Later recurring performers included Tank and the Bangas, The Revivalists, George Porter Jr., Jon Cleary, and Johnny Vidacovich. George Porter Jr.’s Monday-night trio residency, with Terrence Houston and Michael “Goldenthroat” Lemmler, exemplifies the venue’s long-standing emphasis on weekly engagements and musical community. The bar’s cultural significance is not limited to its stage. It has hosted poetry readings and fashion shows, while the Krewe of OAK uses the venue as the start and finish point for its parades and as the location of its Krewe Ball. Poet Everette Maddox was closely associated with the Maple Leaf, and his ashes are buried in the patio. The venue has also been represented in New Orleans literary culture through fictional treatment, poems, and anthologies such as The Maple Leaf Rag and related anniversary collections. Hurricane Katrina created the most consequential interruption in the venue’s history. The Maple Leaf closed for several weeks after the storm. Owner Hank Staples reportedly stayed in New Orleans to guard the bar and other properties and publicly committed to staging the city’s first post-storm concert. On September 30, 2005, Walter “Wolfman” Washington performed at the club using a diesel generator because the neighborhood had not yet regained electricity. The concert drew large crowds and national media attention, including coverage involving NBC News personnel. Authorities eventually shut down the event because New Orleans remained under a curfew. Some local musicians challenged the description of the performance as the city’s first post-Katrina public show, but its scale and coverage made it a prominent symbol of cultural recovery. The Maple Leaf’s reputation has been reinforced by live recordings. Releases connected to the venue include James Booker’s Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah, Rebirth Brass Band’s The Main Event: Live at the Maple Leaf, Papa Grows Funk’s Live at the Leaf, Joe Krown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and Russell Batiste Jr.’s Live at the Maple Leaf, New Orleans Suspects’ Caught Live at the Maple Leaf, and The Rumble’s Live from the Maple Leaf. The 2023 Rumble recording was Grammy-nominated. Across five decades, the Maple Leaf has therefore functioned as a bar, concert room, artist incubator, neighborhood gathering place, and cultural landmark in New Orleans.

• 2023

  The Rumble live release receives Grammy nomination

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  The Rumble’s Live from the Maple Leaf is released and receives a Grammy nomination.

• 2014

  40th anniversary celebration

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  The Society Jazz Band returns for the venue’s 40th birthday celebration.

• 2006

  Papa Grows Funk live album

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  Papa Grows Funk releases Live at the Leaf.

• 2005

  Post-Katrina reopening performance

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  Walter “Wolfman” Washington performs at the Maple Leaf on September 30 after the venue’s temporary closure following Hurricane Katrina.

• 2004

  30th anniversary celebration

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  The Society Jazz Band returns for the Maple Leaf’s 30th birthday celebration.

• 1999

  Rebirth Brass Band live album

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  Rebirth Brass Band releases The Main Event: Live at the Maple Leaf.

• 1993

  James Booker live recording associated with the venue

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah is released as a live album connected with James Booker and the Maple Leaf.

• 1981

  Society Jazz Band residency ends

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  Andrew Hall’s Society Jazz Band ends its regular Saturday engagement after approximately seven years, although the band later returns for special appearances.

• 1974

  Maple Leaf Bar opens

  [1]Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org

  The venue opens on February 24 at 8316 Oak Street in the Carrollton neighborhood of New Orleans, with Andrew Hall’s Society Jazz Band performing on the first night.

A neighborhood-rooted New Orleans live-music institution that combines a bar setting with an unusually broad program of local music, recurring residencies, cultural events, and community traditions.

• Live entertainment · 1974

  Live music program

  The Maple Leaf’s core offering is a recurring live-music program spanning New Orleans jazz, blues, funk, R&B, rock, zydeco, and jam-oriented performances. The venue has supported both recognized regional artists and emerging bands, with regular residencies forming an important part of its operating model.

• Events

  Cultural and community events

  In addition to concerts, the Maple Leaf hosts poetry readings, fashion shows, and events connected with the Krewe of OAK. These activities extend the venue’s role beyond nightlife and connect it with New Orleans literary, artistic, and carnival traditions.

• Recorded music · 1993

  Live recordings associated with the Maple Leaf

  The venue has been associated with live albums by artists including James Booker, Rebirth Brass Band, Papa Grows Funk, Joe Krown with Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Russell Batiste Jr., New Orleans Suspects, and The Rumble. These recordings extend the Maple Leaf identity beyond the physical club and document performances from its stage.

• 2005

  Commitment to an early post-Katrina concertStrategy

  Background

  Following Hurricane Katrina, the Maple Leaf remained closed for several weeks while New Orleans faced extensive disruption and loss of electrical service.

  Action taken

  Owner Hank Staples remained in the city and pledged to host an early concert after the storm. The venue reopened its performance schedule with Walter “Wolfman” Washington on September 30, using a diesel generator.

  Aftermath

  The concert attracted large crowds and national media attention but was ended by police and National Guard personnel enforcing the municipal curfew. The event became associated with New Orleans’ cultural recovery, although claims that it was the city’s first post-Katrina public performance were disputed by other musicians.

  Source

1. 1Maple Leaf Baren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Maple Leaf Bar official websitemapleleafbar.com