Robin Barnes, renowned jazz artist and vocalist, will host an event honoring Black History Month at the Pythian Market. Additional New Orleans artists will join her side in this celebration including Bill Summers, Nicholas Payton, DJ Soul Sister and Mia Borders. As a group, these musicians will hold a panel discussion titled The Past, Present, and Future of African American Musicians in New Orleans. The event will take place on Wednesday, February 13 at 6 p.m.

As a New Orleans native and musical mentor to many, Barnes is excited and honored to be able to host an event with such a powerful message for New Orleans. “It will take place inside a venue that carries so much historical significance for the African American community,” said Barnes.

The Pythian Market has strong roots in the African American community dating all the way back to the early 1900s. The market was known as the “center of Black life” in New Orleans at one point and has seen the start up of black-owned businesses, a young Louis Armstrong performing, and the New Orleans chapter of NAACP working. The Negro Board of Trade was located inside The Pythian and the building was the host for many African American Carnival Balls that led to the formation of the Zulu Parading club in 1909.

The Pythian Market now is an urban food collective located on the ground floor of the historic Pythian Temple in downtown New Orleans. Above the market, apartments and offices were created. Despite some changes to the space, the Pythian Market and its building still hold stories of the formation of New Orleans and its culture.

The Pythian Market is located at 234 Loyola Avenue in downtown New Orleans. For more information click here.