Abita Opry

SCHEDULE AND PERFORMERS


SPRING 2024 SCHEDULE

Our performances are always on the third Saturdays in the Spring and Fall in the months of March, April, and May, September, October, November. The show is from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM.

March 16, 2024

Three Rivers Cooperative: This is a treat for bluegrass fans. The band leader, Christopher Talley is a particularly gifted musician and always surrounds himself with other superior musicians. This group is always t solid act to set the stage for the acts that follow.

Deep and Blue: Keenan Knight is one of the best blues musicians in the area. He is well known among blues musicians in the area. We have tried to get him on our stage, but he and his musical partner have been very busy performing in other venues. We are fortunate to have him appear at our show.

Jonno Frishburn and Bayou Deville: Jonno is not a stranger to the Opry, but he performed recently at one of our monthly Cajun dances at the Town Hall. He recently got married and his new wife performed with him, and her powerful singing voice made Jonno’s group a must for our show.

Shotgun Jazz Band: In New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, there is no shortage of great traditional jazz bands, and shotgun is one of the best. The leader, Marla Dixon is the trumpet player and has a particularly powerful singing voice. She could perform without the mic. She got a standing ovation in the middle of her act at a previous appearance at the opry.

April 20, 2024

Bad Pennies Pleasure Makers: The husband-wife duo of Matt Bell and Joy Patterson are the group leaders. Joy and Matt perform frequently in our area, and Joy is involved in locating and booking musicians for other events including the weekend live music at the Abita Brew Pub, the Northshore Traditional Music Society, and the Abita Busker Festival. They have a very broad musical repertoire and will bring their full group to start the show.

The Crybabies: We are welcoming the first-time group to the Opry. The all-female group has some great music and wonderful harmonies, and we are happy they will be entertaining our audience.

Hunter Hicks Country Band: We all love that good ‘ol traditional “honky tonk” Country music. We try to book Country music often, but, besides our own Steve Anderson Group, very traditional old-fashioned classic Country music groups is not easy to find and book. With the help of joy Patterson, we are fortunate to listen to and book this young man and his group and welcome him to the Abita Opry.

No limit Brass Band: Brass band music is as old as Jazz and has roots in the tradition of having a jazz brass band play in funeral processions in New Orleans. The Lambert Brothers formed this group. They are Abita natives and have been performing music their entire lives. Their father, Dalton Lambert has performed at the Opry previously with his group, the Abita Stumps, but his sons have stepped out on their own and we are excited about them on our stage in their hometown.

May 18, 2024

Steve Anderson Group: Steve is perhaps the most beloved and popular of all our house band groups. They are our longest-lasting house band, and always sets the bar for the rest of the acts that follow. Steve is a local self-taught musician who keeps the music of greats like Hank Williams alive. He is always joined by another opry favorite on vocals, Jan Biggs.

Maris and Ducros: Zac Maris is an Abita Resident and is recently performing alongside his partner Geneveive who has a sweet voice, They blend beautifully they were performing locally, and on hearing them perform their eclectic music collection inviting them to perform at the Opry was a no-brainer.

River City Boys: This acoustic group comes from Baton Rouge and have been performing regularly in that area. They are newcomers to our show. They play some Country and Bluegrass numbers. They are energetic performers and are happy to have been invited to the Opry and we are happy they accepted.

Bayou liberty Jazz Band: This is a very well-seasoned traditional New Orleans Jazz band. They know every old-time jazz song that we have heard all our lives, and they do them very well. I went to hear them recently when they performed here in Abita Springs. The leader, Rory Duffour has been on our stage previously with another group.




WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU

We hope you will come and be part of the Abita Springs Opry experience. To sit and hear great traditional styles of music drawn from our diverse and wonderful musical heritage is more than a treat. Don’t forget, we always have great food available. Gumbo, hot dogs, homemade baked treats, and beverages prepared by local charitable organization provide great lagniappe.

The hundred-plus year old Abita Town Hall is the perfect setting for our show. The wooden building provides a warm and fitting venue for the music heard there. It also provides great acoustics, and our production crew headed by Kent Birkle assisted by Rob Bentley, Kenny Delbert, and Monique Coincoin do an outstanding job of filling the hall with perfect sound.

We believe this is another season of great traditional music. Please remember that we sell tickets on a first-come-first served basis. All seats are $20.00. We have not raised our prices for several years, and have no plans to do so any time soon. To purchase tickets call Kathy at 504-214-7777.

Y'all Come! See you at the Opry!



Abita Springs Busker Festival, April 7, 2024

The Abita Springs Busker Festival is April 7 at the Abita Trail Had stage. The music goes on from 11:30 AM until 7:00 PM. Admission is free. There is plenty of great food, crafts, and beverages. Admission is free. Bring your lawn chairs, sit back, relax, get something good to eat and drink, and spend a spring day in the beautiful surroundings of our Trail Head. “It don’t get no better than that.”

We are very proud of this event and consider it as one of the premier musical festivals on the Northshore. For those who don’t know, “buskers” are musicians who perform on the streets for tips. Some of the finest music that can be heard anywhere is being played on the streets of New Orleans daily, and the Busker Festival was developed to provide them with exposure to audiences other than tourists on Royal Street. We are particularly proud that for all the years that this festival has been in existence the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Foundation partners with the Abita Springs opry to bring the music.

The lineup:
Loyola University Jazz Student Jazz Band
Nola Rhythm Method
Bad Pennies Pleasure Makers
Zach Bryson and the Meat Rack
Jackson and the Janks
Tuba Skinny.

We are always excited about each new season, and we are grateful for our audience who come to hear these wonderful musicians and the music they bring. Musicians love playing at the Town Hall because they seldom can perform before an attentive audience, and we are proud to have a venue in which musicians are grateful and seek the opportunity to play here. So, make your plans, get your tickets and join us in our beautiful little town to hear great music

Abita OpryLISTEN TO PAST PERFORMANCES

Hello Abita Springs Opry fans. Its time for a new season. We hope you are all well and ready for some of the great traditional music that Opry fans love. We will, once again, gather at our historic old Town Hall to see old friends, get something good to eat, and spend two hours enjoying live music performed by some gifted musicians who are keeping our traditional music alive.

That is the mission of the Abita Springs Opry: “The preservation and presentation of Louisiana roots music.” Since 2002, we have been working to fulfil that mission. We have been blessed to have some of the finest musicians in our state perform on stage, and we will continue in that tradition this spring season.


Admission to the Opry. There is a mistaken belief among fans that seats are not available unless tickets are purchased in advance. That is not the case. We do not turn folks away because of lack of seats. If you show up the night of the show, there will be seats available. However, please keep in mind that sales are first-come-first-served. That means the season ticket holders and advance sales will get a better choice of seats. There are no bad seats at the Opry. Everyone has a clear view of the stage but buying tickets in advance will offer you a choice of seats.

Our “Ticket Lady, Kathy Armand is reporting that early sales are brisk. Get the “good seats” by contacting her at 504-214-7777.


Food at the Opry.
Part of the Opry experience for many of our fans is to get something to eat at the show. Many folks come early to get something to eat like gumbo, hot dogs, homemade baked goods and beverages provided by local charitable groups including the FFA alumni association, the St Peter’s Church Men’s Club, the Abita Springs Women’s’ Society, and Abita Springs Friends of the Park. The food is good and very affordable. All the proceeds go to the charitable group providing the eats.


Post-show Jam Session.
Following the show at the Town Hall, the musicians who perform and some of our house musicians gather to enjoy playing informally with one another. The jam session take place at the Abita Brew Pub, one of our sponsors. These jams can be a very rewarding experience for the musicians and audience, because to blending of different talented musicians from different groups. We have heard some great music there. We are grateful to the owner, Mr. Anthony Essiad for providing the space and having food available for the musicians.





Zion Harmonizers
The Zion Harmonizers





OUR MISSION

Our mission to "Preserve and Present Louisiana Roots Music" is taken seriously. Making the Abita Springs Opry available to as many people as possible is a way of fulfilling our mission and gives that much more exposure to these great musicians. We have a valuable musical cultural tradition, and it is worth keeping alive.

Busker Festival

ACCESS THE OPRY ANYTIME ONLINE

We always want to remind our fans that most of our past performances are online and can be enjoyed anytime on your computer or smart device. All you have to do is visit our home page at www.abitaopry.org. Locate the words:

"LISTEN TO PAST PERFORMANCES"

click on it and the listing of downloaded shows will appear on your screen. From there, you can scroll to any show or pick out any particular act that may appeal to you and enjoy.

We provide the web service and cover the cost of video taping and provide the shows to St Tammany Parish Government access TV channel 10 and Southeastern Louisiana University, channel 18. The channels mentioned are available to Charter Cable TV subscribers in several surrounding parishes.

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