Take a Tour of Musician Trombone Shorty’s New Orleans

It’s no secret that artists are deeply influenced by the places they call home, relying on their surroundings as a wellspring of fresh ideas on how to present themselves to the world — both in their work and in the way they dress. 

To explore that intersection, we’ve partnered with our pals at Neiman Marcus to showcase their new spring collection on a few dapper artists-of-the-moment in their cities of residence — spotlighting the locations that have been inspirational in their creative (and sartorial) journeys.

We’re calling it “Stomping Grounds” — consider it your blueprint not only to churching up your wardrobe this season, but also to getting to know the haunts of some truly in-the-know gents next time you find yourself in the neighborhood.

When it comes to live music in New Orleans, calling Blue Nile a must-visit would be the mother of all understatements. Quite simply, it is mecca for some of the world’s greatest musicians, and they pull out all the stops when they play there. 

“There’s shows that start at 8:00 p.m., end by 10:00, and then there’s another group from 10:00 to 12:00, and then they’ll start shows at 2:00 in the morning and that goes until 7:00 a.m.” says Andrews. “Straight from the stage to the street, so all the people in the club will go out, and then there’s hundreds of other people joining. And the band will go around the block and come back, and that’s the end of the show. They end it outside.”

Andrews also knows the importance of a good stage look, as evidenced by this Stefano Ricci combo. “So if you know anything about the second lines of New Orleans, it’s all about how great they look — like they’re always trying to be better than the next group.” he says. “My little sister always helps me. She says I got to have a great jacket onstage. And we also color coordinate it … we always got to look at what matches.”

A short jaunt down Frenchman Street from Blue Nile you’ll find celebrated record shop Louisiana Music Factory, known by music aficionados the world over as the place to come for New Orleans music. “It’s a beautiful thing.” says Andrews. “You go in there, there’s posters from Tipitina’s and the Nevilles and Professor Longhair. There’s great music all around, and little souvenir postcards of Kermit Ruffins playing in a street parade or my brother James playing around. Just things that you can’t find other places.”

When it comes to his Versace look, Shorty credits both Kravitz and the musicians he grew up on for his tie-dye affinity: “Everything Lenny does is the ’70s,” he says. “He’s very influenced from that [era], so that’s a direct influence from him to me. And whenever I wear tie-dye I feel like I’m going to the Jazz Festival walking around to watch The Meters or The Neville Brothers.”

At the edge of Tremé (the neighborhood in which Andrews grew up), you’ll find renowned creole soul food restaurant Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe, a neighborhood institution and a gathering place for both locals and visitors alike. “Whenever I’m in town I’ll probably be in there two, three times a week,” says Andrews. “My favorite thing to order is fried chicken with red beans and rice. And then they bring some other stuff out to me every once in a while. They’re always giving me a good sample, so I’m always leaving extra full.”

While Li’l Dizzy’s might not be the fanciest joint in town, Andrews still likes to dial it up a notch with an ensemble like this one from Fendi. “Going out to dinner, I got to have a nice sport coat and a nice pair of shoes.” he says. “Sometimes I like to do a nice colorful shirt underneath, maybe some flowers on it, so when I take my jacket off my date can say, ‘Oh, you got something nice going on here.’”

“Stomping Grounds” Video by Thomas Lachambre (@lachambrethomas)
“Stomping Grounds” Photography by Hugo Mapelli (@hugoinsta)
Li’l Dizzy’s exterior image courtesy of Li’l Dizzy’s