Plan a second line

Second-line brass band · New Orleans

Walk ’em
home loud.

Horns and drums lead your guests from the church to the party, umbrellas up, handkerchiefs out. We file the parade permit.

$1,800six pieces, up to a mile

Plan a second line Hear us

The band marching down a street of colorful shotgun houses with dancers and parasols A bride and groom dancing in a French Quarter street during their second line
  1. 4:30Out of the church
  2. 4:45Down Royal St.
  3. 5:00Round the square
  4. 5:15Into the reception

Weddings

Pick your parade.

Every parade includes the band in white shirts and black caps, the route drawn with you, the permit filed, and handkerchiefs for the wedding party.

  • Six pieces · Up to a mile · about 45 min

    The Second Line

    $1,800

    Trumpet, trombone, sax, sousaphone, snare and bass drum. Church to reception, umbrellas up, permit filed.

  • Nine pieces · Up to two miles · about 90 min

    The Big Parade

    $2,600

    Add a second trumpet, a second trombone and our grand marshal in sash and fan, for weddings of 150 and up.

  • Six pieces · A mile, then an hour inside

    Parade & party

    $3,200

    The second line, then we follow you in and play a 60-minute set while everybody is still sweating.

Extras

  • Grand marshal, sash and fan+$250
  • 50 decorated umbrellas for the couple and the party+$175
  • 200 white handkerchiefs for the guests+$60
  • City permit and police escortAt cost, usually $300 to $500

The route

How a second line goes.

  1. 30 days beforeWe file the permit

    The city needs a route, a time and a police escort for any parade on the street. We draw the route with you and file it.

  2. The week ofWe walk it

    Terrence walks the route with your planner: where the band waits, where the street turns, where grandma gets a ride.

  3. 4:30 PMOut of the church

    The snare rolls as you come down the steps. The horns hit, the umbrellas go up, and the guests find out they’re in a parade.

  4. 4:45 PMDown Royal St.

    Slow and loud. Neighbors come out on the balconies. Strangers join in. They always do.

  5. 5:00 PMRound the square

    We stop for photos. The band plays one for the two of you to dance in the middle of the street.

  6. 5:15 PMInto the reception

    We play you through the door and keep going until the last guest is inside. Then we cool off, or we play the party.

Decorated second-line umbrellas and white handkerchiefs held high over a dancing crowd A feathered second-line parasol and a lace handkerchief on a porch chair Keon on trombone, blowing hard in a street parade
Terrence Duplessis, the bandleader, with his trumpet on the steps of a painted shotgun house
Terrence, on his front steps in the Seventh Ward

The band

I’m Terrence. Let’s walk.

My grandfather marched with a social aid and pleasure club in the Seventh Ward for forty years, and I followed him on Sundays from the time I could walk. I got my first trumpet at eleven, secondhand, with a dent in the bell I still won’t fix. At fourteen I was playing those same Sunday parades.

In 2012 my sister asked me to walk her wedding from the church to the hall. Four blocks. I called five friends, and by the second block two hundred people were following us, half of them not invited. Somebody’s cousin asked for my number at the door. That was the first booking.

I still teach middle school band in the week, and on the weekend we walk about a hundred couples home a year. I answer every text myself, and I walk every route before the day.

  • Terrence DuplessisTrumpet, leaderCalled every tune since 2012
  • Earl “Big Earl” DupreeSousaphoneHas never once set it down
  • Keon MarchandTromboneSlide reaches the second row
  • Rochelle “Shell” GuidryTenor saxThe one your aunt dances with
  • Andre “Lil Dre” SimmonsSnareSeventeen years on the street
  • Clyde FontenotBass drum & cymbalKeeps the whole parade walking

Walk ’Em
Home

Crescent Street Brass · EP · recorded on the street

Hear us

Walk ’Em Home, the EP.

Five tunes we play on every route, recorded live on a Sunday morning in Tremé with the neighbors singing along. Turn it up.

  1. 01 Walk ’Em Home 3:48
  2. 02 Out the Church Doors 4:12
  3. 03 Royal Street Strut 3:27
  4. 04 Handkerchief Waltz 5:05
  5. 05 Last One Inside 4:40

SpotifyApple MusicBandcamp

Parades

Off the church steps, into the street.

  • Marigny, May · 140 guests

    MarignyMay · 140 guests

  • Tremé, October · umbrellas up

    TreméOctober · umbrellas up

  • A courtyard in the Quarter, June · the party set

    A courtyard in the QuarterJune · the party set

  • Royal St., April · their dance in the street

    Royal St.April · their dance in the street

  • Rehearsal on Terrence’s porch, Every Wednesday

    Rehearsal on Terrence’s porchEvery Wednesday

  • City Park, March · a seventieth birthday

    City ParkMarch · a seventieth birthday

  • Big Earl, Every parade

    Big EarlEvery parade

  • Clyde’s bass drum, Still the original head

    Clyde’s bass drumStill the original head

5.0 from 180 couples.

  • “Both our grandmothers danced the whole mile. In heels. In August.”

    Brianne & MarcusMarigny, August

  • “Strangers came off their porches and walked with us. Our photos look like a movie.”

    Kate & DanielFrench Quarter, April

  • “Terrence handled the permit, the police and my mother. Worth every penny.”

    JasmineTremé, October

Where

The Quarter, the Marigny, Tremé and beyond.

Most of our routes run between the churches and the courtyards of the French Quarter, the Marigny and Tremé. We march anywhere in Orleans Parish the city will give us a permit.

© OpenStreetMap contributors
The French Quarter, the Marigny and Tremé Most routes start and end in here Open the map

Catch us on the street

  1. Sun Dec 7Sunday second line with the Seventh Ward SteppersFrom noon, Seventh WardFree
  2. Fri Dec 19Holiday porch showBywater, 6 PMFree
  3. Sat Jan 24Brass night at The Lantern HallTremé, 9 PMTickets
  4. Sat Feb 14Valentine’s parade, privateMarignyBooked

Questions

Before you march.

How do we hold our date?

Pick your date below and pay the $400 deposit. The date is yours from then on, and it comes off the total. The rest is due a week before.

Do we really need a permit?

Yes. Any parade on a city street needs one, with a police escort. We file it about thirty days out and bill the city’s fees at cost, usually $300 to $500.

What if it rains?

A little rain makes it better. If there’s lightning we wait it out under the balconies, then go. If the city calls it off, we play you into the reception instead.

How far can we walk?

A mile is about 45 minutes at second-line pace, which is right for most weddings. Older guests can ride in a pedicab or a car at the back; we’ll set it up.

Our guests aren’t from here. Will they know what to do?

They will in about thirty seconds. Hand them a handkerchief. Terrence calls out the moves, and the band does the rest.

Can you play the reception too?

Yes, as Parade & party, or book us for a set on its own. Inside we play softer, unless you ask us not to.

Book

Hold your parade with $400.

Saturdays in spring and fall go a year ahead. Pick yours, and Terrence texts you within the day to start drawing the route.

  1. 1Service
  2. 2Date
  3. 3Details
Pick your parade
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