Tipitina’s opened its doors on January 14, 1977, at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, taking its name from a Professor Longhair composition. The building itself dated to 1912 and had cycled through lives as a gambling house, gymnasium, and brothel before local music fans converted it into a neighborhood club then known as the 501 Club.
Professor Longhair, the pianist whose song gave the club its name, became a regular performer there until his death in 1980, cementing the venue’s place at the center of New Orleans’ R&B and funk scene. Since then, Tipitina’s has expanded its space, weathered competition from the 1984 World’s Fair and the rise of the House of Blues, and continued booking live music seven nights a week under a succession of owners, most recently the jam band Galactic.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: 501 Napoleon Ave, Uptown New Orleans, LA
- Type: Live music club
- Opened: January 14, 1977
- Building built: 1912
- Capacity: About 800
- Current owner: Galactic (since December 2018)
- Famous for: Professor Longhair’s home stage
From the 501 Club to a New Orleans Institution
Before it became Tipitina’s, the building at 501 Napoleon Avenue operated informally as the 501 Club, a neighborhood spot in a structure that had already served the block since 1912 in various guises. When a group of local music fans took it over in 1977, they renamed it after Professor Longhair’s song “Tipitina,” and the pianist himself became a fixture on stage until his death in 1980.
The venue’s physical footprint changed over the years. New owners in the mid-1980s removed upstairs apartments and opened up the first-floor ceiling to create a taller room with a second-floor balcony, expanding how many people the club could hold and shaping the layout still used today.
A Foundation Built on Louisiana Music
Tipitina’s survived direct competition from the 1984 World’s Fair and the 1994 opening of the House of Blues nearby, continuing to book touring and local acts across R&B, funk, rock, and jazz. The upstairs space once housed the studios of WWOZ 90.7 FM when the community radio station launched in 1980.
In 1997, the club’s owners established the nonprofit Tipitina’s Foundation, which grew substantially after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to support Louisiana musicians through instrument donations, a music co-op, and youth workshop programs, extending the venue’s influence well beyond its own stage.
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Tipitina’s FAQs
How did Tipitina’s get its name?
The club was named after “Tipitina,” a song by New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair (Henry Roeland Byrd), who became a regular performer at the venue after it opened in 1977.
What is the capacity of Tipitina’s?
Tipitina’s holds roughly 800 people, a figure that grew after a 1980s renovation that opened up the first floor and added a second-floor balcony.
Who owns Tipitina’s today?
The New Orleans jam band Galactic has owned Tipitina’s since December 2018, taking over from Mary and Roland von Kurnatowski, who had run the club since 1997.
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Photo: Tannerocks / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.