- Year the first modern venue opened: 1976
- More than 12,000 gigs every year are played in Frenchmen venues (most venues have at least 2 different bands per day, and sometimes up to 5).
- Thousands of musicians play there throughout the year, some just occasionally and some who play five nights a weeks at different venues
- Most of the venues don’t charge covers, meaning that musicians make most of their money from a percentage of the bar total plus tips (Although, guarantees can factor in as well. Every venue is different.)
- Based on calculations from musician interviews, we estimate that at least $1.5 million dollars are made by musicians on Frenchmen every year. (While this sounds like a lot, keep in mind that it’s divided among hundreds or even thousands of musicians). This does not even begin to count the money made for the businesses, or the overall impact on the New Orleans economy yearly.
- Between 11 and 16 venues at any one time since the storm.
- Besides music venues, there are restaurants and other businesses, as well as street performers and an art market. It is a dense, complex ecosystem.
- “Frenchmen Street” consists of the 600 and 500 blocks of Frenchmen St., as well as the odd-numbered side of the 400 block. Also, some of the buildings in the 400 and 500 blocks of Esplanade, as well the block of Decatur that connects Frenchmen and Esplanade.
- While the neighborhood does not allow live music by law, an “Arts and Culture Zoning Overlay” passed in 2004 carved out Frenchmen St as an exception, allowing it to continue to flourish.
- The Zoning Overlay is why the boundaries ot Frenchmen St. are so tightly defined and why the practice of opening music venues hasn’t spilled onto the cross streets.
- Frenchmen has as acted as a musical incubator for many decades.