Last night, the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the thriving institution/organization that is the hallowed Preservation Hall opened the doors of the brand new Preservation Hall West venue in San Francisco’s Mission District. Band leader Ben Jaffe remarked on the special nature of the night, saying “I think this is this is the beginning of a beautiful love affair” and further hinted that the band would be doing periodic residencies in their new digs. Last night, Robert Earl Keen was the evening’s headliner (PHJB accompanied him for a cover of “I Ain’t Got Nobody”), Glide Ensemble Choir opened and the band continues their opening weekend run alongside Steve Earle tonight and Elvis Costello tomorrow.
Today, the band continued their diplomatic mission to spread the joy of New Orleans culture to the West Coast by leading a Friday morning Second Line parade through the Mission District, from Revolution Cafe to the Preservation Hall West location. Luckily, our friends Ben Chambers and Pete Merriman were there last night and this morning respectively to capture some of the brass band goodness that transpired in the Bay Area. Check out a few of the iPhone snaps below and if you’re on the West Coast, these new digs are worthy of a pilgrimage to check out the new digs.
Carnegie Hall in January, a headlining Jazz Fest slot in May and now this?! What a truly amazing 50th Anniversary this year has been for the great Preservation Hall Jazz Band