Musicians' Village

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Musicians' Village is a neighborhood in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans created to help musicians who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina. It was started by musician Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild homes for New Orleans musicians.

By early 2007 it was described as the largest rebuilding project in post-Katrina New Orleans. The area, including the Baptist Crossroads project, was known as Musicians' Village by September 2006. The first keys to three houses were handed out on June 1, 2006. The dedication ceremony drew more than 300 people, with homeowners Fredy Omar con su Banda and Jerome Deleno “J.D.” Hill performing.

Many famous volunteers helped with the work. On April 27, 2006, politicians George W. Bush, Kathleen Blanco, Ray Nagin and Bill Jefferson joined in, helping with the construction. Hootie & The Blowfish visited in October 2006 to contribute. Former president Jimmy Carter volunteered in December 2006. Barack Obama helped paint a home, spoke with residents and listened to music by J.D. Hill. Karekin II, leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church, helped build on October 17, 2007, and Senator John Edwards helped on January 30, 2008.

A centerpiece of the village is the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, built to celebrate New Orleans music and to educate and support homeowners and neighbors. The two-story center includes a 170-seat theater, performance spaces, practice rooms and classrooms, plus a courtyard with a retractable roof and a smaller community center with meeting rooms, offices, classrooms and an Internet room. It has 51 off-street parking spaces and is managed by New Orleans Habitat Musicians Village Inc. Connick Jr. and Marsalis were heavily involved in the design.

Plans for the center were approved by the City Planning Commission in April 2007. Ground was broken on September 13, 2007, with performances from Bob French and the Original Tuxedo Band and Shamarr Allen Combo, and with Connick and Marsalis in attendance. The Ellis Marsalis Center opened at the end of August 2011. In 2010, the village’s founders received the Honor Award from the National Building Museum for civic innovation and community development, and in 2012 Connick and Marsalis received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen.