2024 officially kicked off with Louisiana’s float and performance in the 135th annual Rose Parade on January 1 in Pasadena, Calif. The parade’s theme was “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language.” The Explore Louisiana float took home the Showmanship Award for the second year in a row.

“We have an incredible amount of musical talent in Louisiana, and every year it attracts visitors from all over the world,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “All throughout 2024 we’re going to be inviting people to come and hear our great music in person at music venues all across the state.”

The state also participated in events such as the CMA Fest in Nashville and DC Jazz Festival in Washington D.C. Louisiana is also working with Louisiana-based artists on a series of social media takeovers for these talented music ambassadors to share what they love about Louisiana and what inspires their music and writing.

Learn more about Louisiana’s music history, hear it for yourself and find out more about where you can find us as we tour the country celebrating and sharing the sounds of Louisiana. The “Year of Music” also coincides with the launch of the Louisiana Music Trail,  which celebrates all the genres of music Louisiana has impacted, the artists of Louisiana, historical sites, music venues and more.

“The music trail is a great opportunity to share our musical history and culture with the world,” said Assistant Secretary of Tourism Doug Bourgeois. “Through exploring the trail visitors can discover hidden gems and gain a deeper appreciation of Louisiana’s impact on a huge variety of musical genres.”

Louisiana Goes On Tour!

August 16-18: Philadelphia Folk Festival – Upper Salsford, PA

August 31-September 1: DC Jazz Festival – Washington DC

September 20-22: XPoNential Music Festival – Camden, NJ

More events to be announced soon.

Jazz

A multi-cultural blend of African and African American and musical concepts, jazz hearkens to the rhythmic fluidity of genres like zydeco. New Orleans jazz artists — think Louis Armstrong — have changed the global course of music with their talent, passion and authenticity. On New Orleans, where the French ruling class lived in fear of slave rebellions, cultural expression was allowed as a safety valve for tensions that otherwise might lead to a revolt. Louisiana jazz musicians have excelled in numerous modern styles — such as swing and be-bop — that do not have uniquely local roots.

Blues

Explore the blues in Louisiana,  the basic bedrock component of American popular music.  Since the latter nineteenth century it has flourished in its own right, while deeply influencing various jazz, rhythm & blues, rock, Cajun-zydeco and country-music styles. Broadway musicals, classical compositions and rap songs have also touched on the blues.  The blues partially evolved from African-American folk tradition. Field hollers, sung solo, served as personal laments and presented social commentary. Verses were rarely uniform in length, and bent and stretched notes were common. These African-rooted traits diverge from the standardized structures of Western music. While some field-holler and work-song lyrics were improvised, many drew from “floating verses” that appeared in numerous other songs, in varying combinations. This tradition remains prominent in blues and other genres to this day.

Cajun music is an accordion- and fiddle-based, largely francophone folk music originating in southwestern Louisiana. Most people identify Cajun music with Louisiana’s Acadian settlers and their descendants, the Cajuns, but this music in fact refers to an indigenous mixture with complex roots in Irish, African, German, Appalachian as well as Acadian traditions. Cajun music has historically been influenced by Western swing, rock ‘n’ roll and country music. Accordions are the loudest instrument in Cajun music and often begin and end any particular song. Along with the diatonic accordion, the fiddle is the instrument most central to Cajun music.