#001 NEW ORLEANS

Go to New Orleans, have the time of your life, and bring us with you.

Anytime you want to watch these kids, be our guest. We are joking, but also, we are not. Just know that if you were kind enough to spend a fun night with these little angels, we'd be on the first thing flying towards New Orleans.

musicbox.village

A post shared by @musicbox.village

If you didn't hit a second-line parade, did you even go to New Orleans? Second lines traditionally come from the brass band funerals of Black communities in New Orleans. Today, they're mostly organized by social aid and pleasure clubs (SAPCs) as celebratory parades. You'll find them most Sundays from late August through June, rolling through Treme, Central City, or the Seventh Ward. There is no invitation to join a second line—you just show up with your to-go cup and become part of the crowd. Blaring brass, jazz, snare drums, reckless dancing, call-and-response, waving handkerchiefs and parasols… It's an experience that's joyful, communal, and full of heart. You can find the second-line calendar here.

Shoutout to the DBA and The Spotted Cat, but we are getting old, and Frenchmen Street gets too packed on the weekends. I'm (Daniel) preferential to Treme Hideway or the Candlelight Lounge, but for a full sensory experience, there is nothing like Music Box Village. It's this incredible mix of concert venues and interactive "musical houses." You can go at night for a show (Solange, Big Freedia, etc.) or during daytime open hours where all these quirky treehouses, shacks, and towers built out of reclaimed wood and metal also double as musical instruments. Some structures hum or sing when touched, while others produce percussion or wind-like sounds. It's kinda unreal.

bacchanalwine

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Now, M favors Bacchanal Wine, which has been known as a "backyard party with serious wine." You walk in, and it's this unassuming, excellent, but unassuming wine shop up front. Grab a bottle and a couple of glasses and head through to the back, where you'll find a sprawling backyard with communal picnic tables, live music, and people, us, digging into the grilled octopus and house-made paella.