While some of the bigger Mardi Gras parades, such as “Muses“, “Endymion” or “Bacchus“, had large floats, police escorts, celebrity guests (such as Val Kilmer), and plenty of beads, it was a lesser known, sort of underground musician’s tradition called the “Bass Parade” which was by far the most interesting experience of the weekend. From the moment we arrived in town, our friends were telling me about this unofficial parade, which has become something of a Mardi Gras tradition: each year, on a given night of Mardi Gras weekend, after their gigs end, the bass players embark on a parade around Frenchmen Street, bass guitars in tow (some with little amps on their backs)…and, usually, they keep it going until the sun comes up. It’s really more of a glorified pub crawl than a parade, but a good time none the less…we took a bit of video along the way…

Thanks for a great time New Orleans! Good to see you back on your feet -

Johnny