The Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans

This coalition is keeping the heart of New Orlean’s music and cultural scene beating. 

The MISSION of The Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MaCCNO) is to collaborate with, organize, and build the civic capacity of the New Orleans music and cultural community to preserve and nurture the city's culture, to translate community vision into policy change, and to create a more just and equitable city and region.

Why is it important?

Since 2012, MaCCNO has been organizing, empowering, and advocating with New Orleans’ musicians, artists, traditional culture bearers, and other members and allies of the cultural community.

The organiztion's roots lie in a community meeting called by prominent musicians in order to address a crackdown on small New Orleans music venues carried out in advance of New Orleans hosting Super Bowl XLVII.  At this meeting, it quickly became clear that the problems extended far beyond the silencing of a few music clubs.  Complaints included an unclear permitting process and overly restrictive zoning ordinance that drastically limited live music citywide; police harassment of brass bands and street musicians; widespread financial instability and lack of economic opportunity for the cultural community; political disenfranchisement of musicians, artists, and culture bearers, and many more. Realizing that such a broad range of topics could not be adequately resolved in even several such meetings, a core group of participants continued to meet weekly to strategize, and MaCCNO was born.

How do they do it?

Since its founding in 2012, MaCCNO maintains their grassroots ethos and approach as they work at the intersection of culture, policy, and social justice. While they continue to address immediate issues like the loss of live music permits and the inconsistent enforcement of street performance laws, they know that for New Orleans’ culture to survive and thrive—and for musicians, artists, and traditional culture bearers to enjoy a good quality of life—larger systemic like the lack of affordable housing, low wages, and a massive income disparity must be addressed.

They also know that no one knows the issues the cultural community faces, and the solution to those issues, better than the members of the cultural community themselves.  MaCCNO works every day to make sure those voices are heard, and that the solutions become reality.

The organization's efforts stretch to support education, teaching and research includes community engagement sessions and comprehensive guides for street performers. Supporting advocacy and policy proposals including sound and zoning ordinances and a grassroots cultural plan. Lastly, they work in culture-based economic support, including financial assistance for music venues and providing outreach, empowerment and advocacy for street musicians, reallocation of tourism surplus to the cultural community, organizing meditations, and preparing a Good Visitor Guide to New Orleans. 

How you can #TravelKindly: 

• Choose  MaCCNO as your local charity when you book your hotel with Kind Traveler.
• Policy-based changes along with other related initiatives and emergencies tend to happen suddenly and in real-time. As a result, MaCCNO regularly updates its social media handles with clear and concise info regarding specific call-to-actions, teach-ins, tabling efforts, etc. Please make sure to follow their social pages for additional info: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
• Drop off a food item to one of the New Orleans community fridges often used by the cultural community
• Purchase a “Music is Not a Crime” or “Free the Beat on Rampart Street” T-shirt and wear it proudly
• Be sure to download the Good Visitor Guide to New Orleans which helps to mitigate the impacts of New Orleans' 18 million annual visitors offering simple, direct, and practical advice on topics like second line etiquette, safety, and neighborhood courtesy.