The small south Louisiana town of Abita Springs is a twentieth century anachronism. Located in the heart of the piney woods north of Lake Ponchatrain near New Orleans, the town boasts one traffic light, four churches, two schools, and a few restraints. It is the kind of town that hardly exists anymore. It is a place where one can go into the local grocery store and know everyone there. It is a town with streets tucked beneath a thick canopy of live oaks flanked by beautiful turn-of-the century raised cottages. At the heart of this idyllic community is the town hall.

        The hall serves as a true community center in which bingo is played every Friday night, the Town Council holds monthly meetings, the local scouts meet, the schools and churches host fundraising activities, and, monthly, folks gather to dance across the old wooden floor to the strains of Cajun music. The hall serves one other very important function. On Saturday nights six times a year, in the months of March, April, May, September, October and November; the Town Hall becomes a concert auditorium. A diverse overflow crowd comprised of families, young people, seniors, and others from all walks of life crowd themselves into the hall to be treated to some of the best old-time country, bluegrass, traditional southern gospel and other forms of traditional Louisiana music played live, in its original form, acoustically, without the aid of electric amplifiers plugged into the guitars, mandolins, fiddles, dobros and other instruments used to provide the beautiful sounds that emanate from the raised platform that serves as the stage.

     What one can expect to hear at the Abita Springs Opry is Louisiana "roots" music played like it was when it was performed before audience in small auditoriums like the Abita springs Town Hall. The Abita Springs Opry, a re-creation of the immensely popular Piney Woods Opry that played at the Town Hall for ten years, has what it considers a valuable mission - The preservation and presentation of Louisiana Roots music. The main emphasis is on the type of music indigenous to our section of the state, but we do occasionally offer something a little different as Lagniappe - a little something extra, to our show that puts a little more spice into our musical gumbo. We hope you enjoy this little taste of that gumbo, but, more importantly, we hope to see you at the Opry.

     The Abita Springs Opry is a series of music concerts held six times a year and is produced by a nonprofit organization, Abita Opry Inc. The show has the mission of preserving and presenting Louisiana "Roots" music. Our music is played primarily acoustically, in its original form. Our main thrust is old-time Country, Bluegrass, and traditional Southern Gospel music, but we often present other forms of traditional Louisiana music such as Cajun, Zydeco, Irish, or other types that reflect the many different groups of people who are part of our diverse culture.

   The Abita Springs Town Hall is a perfect setting for this show. The hundred-plus year old wooden building serves as a community center for the small town of Abita Springs. Abita Springs is a one stoplight rural suburban community located north of and less than an hour's drive from New Orleans. The Town Hall has walls lined with pecky cypress and the wooden floor provides an aesthetically and acoustically satisfying environment for the "old style" music. Audiences often clap their hands and tap their feet in rhythm to the sometimes sweet and sometimes energetic sounds that emanate from the stage. The hall has a capacity of slightly less than four hundred and provides an intimate setting that allows close communication between the musicians and the audience.

  Adding a little "Lagniappe" (Louisiana slang for something extra) to the show is the homemade treats, beverages, and traditional Louisiana entrees, usually gumbo, that are served at the rear of the hall by one of our local charitable organizations like the school PTO. A lot of our fans come early to eat and visit friends while waiting for the show to start. Plus we have a porch performance prior to the show, weather permitting.

  We welcome families. Alcoholic beverages are not served and smoking is not allowed. We also keep our prices affordable to allow for families and the large number of Seniors who help make up our audience. We want to entertain you while allowing a performance venue for musicians who appreciate traditional music before an audience that also appreciates that music. Its all about preserving the very rich cultural traditions of Louisiana. We hope to see you there. Y'all come.

The Krewe of The Abita Springs Opry:

Stage Manager/MC: Bryan Gowland
Back Stage Manager: Jan Biggs
House Audio Engineer: Jude LeBlanc
Broadcast Audio Engineer: Kent Birkle
Assistant Engineer: Rob Bentley
Video Mixer: Danny Zechenelly
Camera: Jamie Hooper & Steven Bowen
Tickets: Lisa King

Abita Springs Opry Board of Directors:
Bryan Gowland - President/ Producer
Lisa King - Treasurer
Kathy Armand - Secretary General
Kent Birkle - Technical Director/Broadcast Audio
Bobby Belloni- Music Director
Jude LeBlanc - House Sound
Jan Biggs - Publicity and Marketing

  If you would like to be on our mailing list and receive a newsletter or email newsletter, send us your address at info@abitaopry.com or call 985-892-0711.

  We exist through the generosity of our sponsors.
The admission price pays just a small portion of the shows expenses. Make donation checks payable to: The Abita Springs Opry and mail to P.O.Box 1688 Abita Springs, LA 70420 USA.

  Advance tickets may be purchased at the
Abita Springs Town Hall or by check or money order to:

Abita Springs Opry
P.O.Box 1688
Abita Springs, LA 70420 USA.

Give the mail man enough time to get the tickets to you or
you can request that we hold the tickets for you at the
Abita Opry will-call (at the front door).

All advanced tickets are $15, regardless of age, and are for reserved seating in the center section in front of the stage. Maximum 250 reserved seats.
The rest of the tickets (about 150 ) are saved for general admission the day of the show.
General tickets are first come first serve basis.

  If you are a musician and would like to be considered for a future Abita Springs Opry show, mail a press kit to the Abita Springs Opry at P.O.Box 1688 Abita Springs, LA 70420 USA.

 

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