Today, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., a new weekly concert series, “Jazz in the Park” has its second run in Armstrong Park. Glen David Andrews headlines tonight’s show with Michael Baptiste and DJ Quickie Mart opening, plus special performances by Craig School Young Audiences and the Organ Grinders.

James Andrews Band at Jazz in the Park, April 5. Photo by Josh Brasted.

The free, weekly series started April 5 and will continue through May 17—with a break May 3 for Jazz Fest.

New organization People United for Armstrong Park (PUfAP) started the Jazz in the Park series as an effort to re-establish Armstrong Park, North Rampart Street, and the Treme neighborhood as a destination for arts and entertainment. “The park is open, safe and beautiful,” says Ben Harwood, co-founder of PUfAP. “There are few places [in the neighborhood] for jazz, and with the Treme concert series we are hoping musicians can come home and downtowners can have something to walk to.” PUfAP is also hoping to start a music series during other times of the year, and are trying to set up movies in the park during the summer. “We want the park to be a nurturing place and a hub of the city’s cultural economy,” says Harwood. “We are trying to give a neighborhood that created much of New Orleans culture an opportunity to display it.”

Each Jazz in the Park concert will include two headlining performers, a DJ and an MC. The concerts run from 5 to 7:30 p.m. each Thursday, with food and beverages from local vendors available. Future headliners include Kermit Ruffins and Donald Harrison.

For more schedule information, visit armstrongpark.org.