Tipitina's French Quarter has reopened, is hosting occasional public shows and is again available for parties, conferences, receptions, and other special events. For more information, available dates, or to request a site inspection, please call (504) 566-7095, fax (504) 566-1663, or email ken@tipitinas.com. This page is about what our staff and venues did following Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaches.

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Our Katrina Stories

FOUNTAINBLEAU STAFF RESCUES RESIDENTS, NEIGHBORS - Security personnel Larry Thomas and Richard Bogen elected to stay at their posts and ride out Hurricane Katrina at the Fountainbleau Complex, watching over the band rehearsal facility, apartment units, storage, studio and Co-Op. Thanks to their dilligence the Fountainbleau was the only business on that strip that didn't get looted. Thomas got badly cut when his apartment windows shattered, but valiantly kept on working. Our sargeant-at-arms Alan Thompson showed up to help manage things during the flood; Thompson wound up directing a volunteer fleet of boats that rescued neighbors, got sick elderly folks to health care, and carried people to safety.

More than eighty apartment residents were stranded at Fountainbleau Apartments. National Guard wouldn't let them evacuate by foot across I-10 into Metairie, and they were out of food and water. Bogen, Thomas and Thompson used boats to shuttle residents over the railroad tracks and beneath I-10 (at Carrollton) to higher ground at Xavier. Tragically, the deep water and strong currents drowned two of our neighbors who were helping handicapped people during this process. Once the group made shallow water, they proceeded to wade for miles through mid-city and uptown until they reached Tipitina's music club.

TIP'S UPTOWN SHELTERS REFUGEES - Tipitina's door man Mark Sieler - the guy who confiscates all fake IDs - chose to stay at the club during the storm, and wound up running a relief operation. He sheltered uptown neighbors, retrieved pets and valuables, kept over-zealous authority types placated, and helped find and distribute food, water, and relief supplies. When the evacuees from the Fountainbleau Complex arrived, Seiler and our wonderful neighbors neighbors Tony Calloway, David Davis and Fabianna all pitched in to care for them. Encore Catering provided loads of New Orleans food and beverage to people who hadn't eaten in days. There was no water pressure, so the Tchoup House hot tub was bailed out and used to flush toilets.

In the midst of all this we'd found a woman who was going into labor. As the rescue bus showed up (driven by Tip's IT guru David Cole, under the direction of our boss RVK) the baby began to arrive. Under the circumstances, Mark, Larry and Richard stepped up and became instant midwives. They actually delivered a baby. It was another miracle in the midst of all this devastation.

MILITARY COMMANDEERS FRENCH QUARTER VENUE - Much of the Tip's staff had evacuated to Baton Rouge. Imagine our surprise when we saw Tip's French Quarter on CNN, with soldiers moving supplies in-and-out of the place. It turns out members of the Illinois and Florida National Guard had opened the venue and pressed it into service in the early days of the crisis. They apparantly used the facility for storage, sleeping, cleanup, phone calls and dining. It looks like they also sheltered some families with small children; many wonderful drawings and thank you notes were left behind. Perhaps most surprising of all, the liquor cabinet was not even touched!

BACKGROUND: Until the recent devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Tipitina's Foundation has devoted its efforts to uplifting the New Orleans music community through its Music Office Co-op, Instruments A-Comin' benefit concerts and the Tipitina's Internship Program. That mission has changed, as we now fight to save and rebuild that very community. We are currently finding musicians housing, gigs and instruments while we raise funds through donations, nationwide benefit concerts, and other efforts, to meet the continued challenges of rebuilding our city and culture. Tipitina's Uptown, 501 Napoleon Avenue, has reopened as a Musician's Community Center and Music Office Co-Op, directly providing relief services, referrals, and whatever else we can do for our musical and artistic community.

Meanwhile, we are actively seeking donations to provide our music community in exile, and those who have returned, with whatever resources they need to survive, including gigs, instruments and options for resettlement. Donations can be made online at https://tipitinasfoundation.org/donate/ or can be sent to:

Tipitina's Foundation
4040 Tulane Avenue, Suite 8000, New Orleans LA 70119

Since opening its doors in 1977, the music club Tipitina's has provided New Orleans artists with a place to call home. Now we are saving our home that is New Orleans.

We appreciate your generosity and support.

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ABOUT TIPITINA'S: Tipitina's, one of New Orleans' most historic music venues, is recognized internationally as a sacred musical and cultural institution. E! Entertainment Television recently named Tipitina's one of the world's coolest clubs. National magazines including Esquire, Rolling Stone, Bride, and many others regularly include Tipitina's in their lists of "must see" Crescent City attractions.

Click here to view a video clip about Tipitina's (broadband only).