ABOUT NOLA FUNK FEST
NOLA Funk Fest is the coming out party for The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience, a museum of grand scale dedicated to the preservation of Louisiana’s rich musical history. This festival features programming that gives attendees a taste of what the museum will offer. The 2023 festival featured an exhibit titled I Found My Thrill: The Music and Artistry of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew, which continued a run at the New Orleans Jazz Museum before embarking on a state-wide tour. At NOLA Funk Fest 2024, a new exhibit on Louisiana Blues made its debut at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. In 2025, the fest focused on celebrating Black Masking Indians -- their music, legacy and culture -- with exhibits and special programming.
NOLA Funk Fest features symposiums where oral histories, flavored by musical performances, highlight impactful legacies of Louisiana's music history.
Our goal for this festival is to draw attention and help make our dream of giving Louisiana the museum it deserves a reality. Our goal for the museum is to preserve the evolving Louisiana music history to educate, inspire and empower. Aligning with these goals, we prioritize paying our local artists above market rates.
LOUISIANA MUSIC & HERITAGE EXPERIENCE
The Louisiana Music & Heritage Experience (LMHE) is a forthcoming museum of grand scale dedicated to the preservation of the state’s rich musical history. LMHE will tell the story of Louisiana’s music from the African-American, Native American, French and Spanish influences through all genres of today. An educational institution, LMHE will use exhibits, live music, storytelling with music and interactives to empower and inspire. LMHE will incorporate training programs for musicians, as well as stage, light and sound managers and others. Asynchronous learning programs with lesson plans for teachers will be available for all ages from elementary school to adults so the world will know our story.
MISSION
To respect and honor the evolving Louisiana music culture by preserving our legacy, educating all with our story and inspiring the future. All this done with the intention to utilize our programing and profits for the end goal of equitably supporting musicians and gig workers in Louisiana.
VISION
A world-wide institution which tells the story of Louisiana’s music being the genesis of American music forms and all of her evolution. An institution of justice; recognizing and honoring expression from oppression.
CORE VALUES
Respect and Honor
Preserve
Educate
Inspire
Support
