Upstairs is chill. Its a good spot with great live music and its not overly crowded.The sound stage here is great for being so small! The music is enjoyable and most importantly tolerable! The bands sound is smooth and natural .Id recommend coming here if youre looking for some elbow room.

Visited last week while visiting the city on a solo trip. Strolled by on a Thursday night and found out it was Reggae Night. It was a $5 cover, but it was the best $5 I spent the whole time in New Orleans. I live in DFW where folks barely dance but that was not the case here. At Blue Nile, everybody was getting it in on the dance floor. Music selection was awesome and I even found a good looking fella to whine on Drinks werent too expensive and the place definitely got packed. Will definitely be back my next visit to NOLA.

Love this place. The best on Frenchman

Caught two recent shows here and had a great time. Sound and lighting were just right and the smaller venue is a great intimate musical experience. Bar staff helpful and attentive, ticketing and admission was not too wheels off.... good times.

Great music. Great crowd. Great cocktails. One of the best places in all of our travels to NOLA. Now a must stop every time we come down. Dont be fooled by the empty room before the shows start - one the music starts this place is hopping. Highly recommended!

Great vibe, cheap drinks & live music make a great combination! I dont know if every Thursday night is reggae but thats what I got. Close to other live music lounges so you can hop from lounge to lounge. Great experience.

Couldnt have been happier with my experience seeing Kermit Ruffins at the Blue Nile. It was dead simple purchasing my tickets online, the bar was friendly and delicious, and the venue was great for music.

Saw a great band (2 guitars, violin and trombone) for free. Big venue that wasnt busy.

Great venue and selection of beer. Watched the New Breed Brass Band perform there who were great! I recommend breaking away from bourbon street and head here for some real local music.

Great band on the night we went. Found an open table right away, and got a couple beers. Cold Beers. Great Tunes, Thats The Big Easy life. Tried to post video of the band that night but Google says NO.

The band was amazing and atmosphere made it even better. A definite must go in New Orleans

My favorite jazz place in the french quarter... dark and groovy atmosphere (they way I like it) with the best performance of bands... good selections of beers and wines and good cocktails also... very reasonable prices and a good service as well... try to get early because tables are limited... but anyway I guarantee you that you will totally enjoyed as I did 4 times...

Cool spot I love the Live bands, but depending on the bartender will you get the drink you ordered and prices vary! I went two days in a row and ordered the same drinks and they were more expensive and tasted like well drinks and I dont get my drinks from the well. Definitely going to be awhile before I decide to go back if ever.

Love coming here for music! Right in the middle of Frenchmen street this is a top place to be! I always pop my head in to see who’s playing and recently I got to see Kermit Ruffins play!Decent sized location and the drinks are affordable! Plus there’s an upstairs that opens at 7, prime for chewbaccus parade!

Forget Bourbon St. Head over to Frenchmen Street and hang with the locals. Blue Nile is one of our go to places for live music.Very laid back open bar with a few tables scattered about, but mainly standing room only. They usually have a couple of bands a night with the first show usually free. Bartenders are usually pretty good with service, even when they are packed.And, we recommend trying to catch one of New Orleans hippest trumpet players... Kermit Ruffins.

Girls night out to dance and see Kermit Ruffins. Door staff and bar staff are very friendly. Love this hot spot!

New Orleans Jazz is alive and well here on Wednesday nights! Brought my fiancee who hasnt seen much live music and she was blown away and how well the play together and how fluid the whole set was. Drinks are reasonable and the venue was fine, the real star is the music.

Great music venue! Awesome sound system. Heard 3 different bands here and all sounded wonderful. Service is prompt and friendly. One of the best places we visited in New Orleans.

A staple of a club! They always have great acts, especially Kermit Ruffins, who plays here pretty much every week. Great atmosphere, music and drinks! If youre visiting, this is definitely a place to put on your list!

This place has real awesome live jazz music. Go and check it out.

Nice atmosphere with good music. Thats the view from their balcony.

To be honest I accidentally hit one star for for this place while scanning something else. The owner wrote a very rude response to this. Regardless this is a 5 star place to see music. Ive been going to this place for years in its various forms since it was the dream palace. The person who wrote that I should put a pole somewhere is well, not very nice but the venue to hear music is wonderful. I highly recommend it.

Visiting New Orleans and couldnt pass up a chance to see the legendary Kermit Ruffin perform. He didnt disappoint.The venue has few tables and chairs, so either arrive very early or expect to stand. I appreciated the organization of the list of prepaid ticketholders as I had no trouble getting in when my party and I arrived. The bar has limited, no frills drinks. The security staff was friendly except for one Black guy who lacked good communication skills when I asked if re-entry was required before the last set since it was ticketed but there was no entry fee before it started. But his coworkers made up for his dry, grumpy sarcasm.A super bonus was the club upstairs thats available for a mixed-age crowd after party. Theres even a balcony to sit out on and talk or enjoy the breeze and view. DJ Black Pearl is the greatest! We left around 3am but were told that the party didnt end until 5am.Dont miss this 1-stop party shop. U wont leave disappointed.

Love this place! Venue has great vibes. Wall art is a vibe on its own! Always has great artists. Definitely check it out!

This was the place to be on the Saturday night that we went out. Upstairs was popping with some good hip hop and rap music, and downstairs they were playing good throwbacks and new Jack swing music. Drinks were great! I had the Freaky Teaky and it was amazing and $9. We had a blast here. And the upstairs part has a balcony over looking Frenchman St.

Great place to take in a show, and have a good time! Dont miss out!

Terrible experience. My wife and I ( both in our 50s- so quite flattering)were asked for ID by a rude doorman. Obviously we had picture ID from Canada ( your neighbouring country). The doorman basically ignored our IDs and said the only way in was with a passport!!! ( unless a US citizen) . WOW , we weren’t crossing a border.Can anyone believe this! My advice to anyone from Europe, Asia, Australia etc don’t bother with this place. We went to about a dozen clubs, most did not ask us for ID, some did ( not passports lol)New Orleans is a great place for live music- that evening we ended up listening to a great band at the spotted Cat across from Blue Nile:)

The music was unreal. The best night I had in New Orleans involved coming to Blue Nile and listening to the music. Unpretentious, cheap drinks and an enjoyable atmosphere. They allowed a large group of 50 of us to come on through without prior reservations and were very friendly to us.

This little spot was amazing!! We had the best time for our sons 21st birthday!!! From the peace keeping staff, to the bartenders, this place was excellent!! The upstairs band was LIT!! The bartender with the Raiders shirt was the BEST!! This area of NOLA is Always our go to spot when we visit!! You will not be disappointed in visiting the Blue Nile!!!

It took 2 hours past the scheduled time for the band to start but they made it fun as always. And when they did start WOW!!!! Great place dont miss it.

Review not for music.Doorman stops and questions medical emergency bag and after explaining instead of allowing us to enter questions me if I should be out if my medical issues are so serious. There’s better music and bars on the entire block, Skip this place until management can train their team better.

Blues, down and dirty open air. Great bar great people. Great food. Rock out. 5 stars

The music here is really good. A great place to grab some drinks and just relax as the music soothes your soul! I definitely recommend checking it out.

My favorite live music spot in nola! Perfect intimate size with a nice big stage and plenty of space to either dance or chill with your friends and your drinks. Prime example of why you gotta hit up Frenchmen on your trip here!

Great place for live music. Very electric vibe

Favorite music club in New Orleans! Their bands are always amazing, the venue is spacious, and the sound mixing is always on point. To make it even better, they have the best beer selection and prices on Frenchmen St. Their bar staff is always efficient, keeping things moving. Make sure to make it upstairs to their balcony, too!

Great place to dance. Often more funkier bands play here than the other bars on Frenchmen. It also offers one of the larger dance floors.

A great place to watch live music. Gets packed on the weekends, we like to go early and then retire from shows early to head upstairs for the balcony.

Great live entertainment. Only drinks are served here. Might wanna eat before you come

Sat in the booth in back which I greatly enjoyed. Loved the live music and the red wine wine option. Bathroom was relatively clean given it was a busy, Saturday night. Love the air-conditioning.

If you love live music in an intimate venue this is your vibe. Gonna be quality New Orleans jazz some funk, some R and B.

The bartenders think they are slick. They up the prices so they could pocket the difference. It’s a shame because I’m a really good tipper and respect service industry workers. BEWARE!! Don’t go here. Spend your money somewhere else.

A couple of years ago, they upgraded the sound here. Its one of the best sounding venues on Frenchmen St. Extremely fair prices for booze, very fair door prices. One of, if not, the best best music venue on Frenchmen. Ive been here a million times, have always had the best time. Tonight was Robert Walter of the Greyboy Allstars, and it was fantastic.

Nice place. Had a great live band followed by an even better DJ that played old school hip-hop. Also has a balcony that everlooks the action on Frenchman St.

Absolutely fantastic. The music and atmosphere was simply perfect. Cant wait to go back tonite.

Bathrooms need some care and attention. Great live music and party atmosphere. Cover charge at night get there early

Great drinks, staff, & live music! wish i could come back every weekend!! unfortunately would need to invent teleportation ):

Fun music and bands the night we were there. There was plenty of room for people to dance or just stand and enjoy. The lighting was really cool and gave a good vibe to the place.

We went twice on our visit, reggae Thursday with my friends family and friends before the wedding weekend and even after the wedding with the bride and groom. Love the vibe there

I visited a few weeks ago, we had a great time! Band was great, loved the Bob Marley mural.

Good spot to hear some dancehall and reggae music on a thursday. I thought it closed at 2am but the DJ kept playing the tunes well after 3. Its no Jamaica but it was good vibes from everyone there

Frenchmen St staple! The music was great.

Very fun! There was a upstairs too! Just wish they had more seats! I think I took 30K steps that day!Sb2kfit dot com

I loved it! It felt authentic. The music was excellent! I enjoyed my visit. I will be back soon. I do recommend it. The crowd was nice. I felt at ease. The prices were also good.

This place is the jam. We enjoyed some great music here on a weeknight. There was no cover and drinks were very fairly priced. Look, theres plenty of places to go on Frenchman, but Blue Nile is worthy of your short list. Also, the music wasnt so loud that it hurts your ears, and for that I was appreciative. Highly recommended!

Very relaxing atmosphere, nice live music. Very fun

Here for the 10:00 PM show, it is 11:40 and we are still listening to house music. Very unprofessional. Musicians can keep time, they just cant show up on time.

If it is too crowded for you here, they have shows upstairs as well. We were able to get there early enough before the show. The balcony has a good spot to take pictures, and it’s a good atmosphere for jazz fans.

Such good jazz music!! Get there early so you dont have to pay cover.

Big Sam put on a hell of a show in a great little venue!

Water Seed was playing on Tuesday nite when we went. AWESOME group!!! I enjoyed myself to the fullest. Great atmosphere good company drinks and a PHENOMENAL BAND what a well spent evening. Love the CD I purchased. If u havent seen the show get ready to be amazed.

A constant party. Safe and a blast. I love it every time.

Great bands all of the time. So many different options as well with the downstairs and upstairs. Good drinks, nice and stuff. Decent prices for drinks and at door. On Frenchmen street so a great spot for locals and tourists alike. You can see anyone from Kermit muffins to flow tribe to so many more great new orleans bands! And on a very fun lively street.

Great atmosphere. Fantastic band that plays both newer and traditional jazz music mixed with pop and rap on Thursday nights. Great drink deals!

Nice boujee spot. Instead of kaotic canal.

It is Soo perfect, Topnotch customer service, nonstop fun,great time with friends and they always have the best New Orleans music playing. If your looking for great time you should go to the BlueNile.

Phenomenal music, crowd, vibe, everything. A can’t miss

What a cool little bar. Amazing music the night I went (brass band). Theres very limited seating, but this isnt the kind of place you want to be sitting anyway. Everyone gets up to dance and enjoy the music. The drinks are very reasonably priced. Its not very clean so set your expectations before you go. Go for the music and atmosphere though. I wish I could have gone many more times during my visit!

Love reggae Thursdays and the upstairs balcony during festival season. #DJT-Roy #church

Great band, drinks, and fun. Loved the setup, makes you dance....all night!!

The band that we’re on when I were there were extraordinary, great entertainers, amazing frontmant. Bar just your usual fare, I imagine things could get messy and fun fast.

Come to Blue Nile and hang out on the balcony. Listen to some of the best music at night and people watch for hours as the night life shuffles by beneath you.

Nice place to have a beer and listening a good music!

Band was 45 min late and sound man told us if we dont like it to leave. I tip well and appreciate great music. But poor unprofessional attitudes have no place in a great place like this. Too bad they have a wannabe sound man on a a sat night. FRIDAY night sound guy was AMAZING. There are so many GREAT places on Frenchman street we will never be back to the Blue Nile.

Great place to grab a drink and listen to some live music!

LOVED the food! The Sunday buffet is worth the wait time. We didnt wait too long compared to other places we ate at this weekend. The fried chicken was fried perfectly! Mac-N-Cheese was amazing and the bread pudding was the best Ive had in yrs. Try to arrive early if youre hungry and dont eat before going. Ill be back soon!

A great spot to check out live local music

Great live music!

One of the great places on Frenchmen. Great music. Well priced drinks. I always end up there at least a couple of times every time Im in New Orleans.

Great blues music. Reasonable prices on drinks. No cover the Saturday we went.

Nice chill spot with great live music. Water Seed plays there on Tuesdays. Very good band to see live...

Loved the band, nice space, good sound system, not too loud.

The band was awesome. Will definitely be back to visit.

A truly amazing place for live jazz. Be aware. They give you more alcohol than you can take, which is the best thing. Loved this place, would definitely go here every time I visit NOLA.

Stopped by for a free show on a Sunday evening. They have a nice and large open area right upon entering with a good-sized stage. Lots of beers on tap and the cocktail menu seemed balanced.

Good jazz music and great ambience. Worth a visit!!

Umm...looking for somewhere to go to dance? Heres the spot!! And the drinks!! Just trust me

If you love Reggae, Dance hall or Caribbean music go on Thursday night.

Awesome place on Frenchmens St New Orleans! Live Blues and Jazz. Top rated.

Great music and drinks! Live band was amazing and the crowd was phenomenal. Cover charge made it less crowded than other places. On Frenchman street, where more locals and less tourists go, very nice. Making drinks more affordable and musicians on a higher level. More of a trendy and hipster crowd. Highly recommend! I will return!!!! So much better than bourbon St, hands down.

Great venue for live music in NOLA. Check the calendar or just show up!

The young lady we saw was amazing and the band was great. I am mad I cant think of her name.

Classic frenchman st. Amazing live bands, and the balcony right next to the stage/ dance floor is a great place to cool off. Tip your band!

Awesome went on Friday night for Kermit ruffians it was a great time

Awesome dj upstairs! Great hip hop venue

Great venue for watching a show. Get lucky and Kermit Ruffins will make your night amazing. When you finish, youll know what it means ...

Best bar we went to in New Orleans. Fantastic music and reasonably priced drinks. Go for a real jazz experience.

Love this place....very non touristy what I like

I have been going to this place for over a decade. The vibe on Thursdays is amazing with DJ T-Roy and his reggae nights. On Saturdays the upstairs gets popping after midnight. Definitely worth checking out, lot of locals hang out but it is on Frenchmen so be prepared to mingle with plenty of tourists.

A FANTASTIC place in New Orleans to party and hear great live bands!