Pictured (left to right): TUSC staff Melissa A. Weber, Erin Kinchen-Addicks, and Jennifer Waxman introduce the event. Photo by Alan Velasquez. 

Last fall, Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC) marked American Archives Month with a Community Day at the Dew Drop Inn on October 18, 2025, held in conjunction with the venue’s Legends of the Dew Drop musical. The event connected music, history, and archives by highlighting TUSC resources and archival materials related to the historic New Orleans venue. 

Celebrating New Orleans Musical Heritage 

The Community Day event was a special, complimentary admission edition of the Dew Drop Inn’s weekly “Legends of the Dew Drop Inn: Road to Rock & Roll.” It drew a capacity crowd of attendees who were treated to a Creole brunch buffet and guided tour of Frank’s Barbershop, a gallery located in the original barbershop space named after founding Dew Drop Inn proprietor Frank Painia. The gallery features an exhibit including photographs and digitized audio from two TUSC collections, The Legend of the Dew Drop Inn documentary interviews by Julia Dorn (HJA-093) and the Ralston Crawford collection of New Orleans jazz photographs (HJA-098). 

Guests also enjoyed a musical that traces the role and influence of New Orleans and the Dew Drop Inn on the 1950s origins of rock & roll. Jesse McBride, Senior Professor of Practice of Black American Music in the Newcomb Department of Music at Tulane, serves as bandleader for the production. 

Bridging Past and Present Through Archives 

As part of American Archives Month, TUSC staff shared educational resources, including information about caring for personal archives and TUSC holdings related to the Dew Drop Inn. Packets with these materials were distributed to attendees and are available for download, allowing access to those unable to attend the event in person. 

Attendees had the opportunity to chat about archives with TUSC staff, including Collection Management Team members Erin Kinchen-Addicks and Jennifer Waxman, and Melissa A. Weber, curator of the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz at TUSC, who coordinated the event in collaboration with Dew Drop Inn Communications Director Lauren Usher.

Gratitude and Community Impact 

Community Day at the Dew Drop Inn with Tulane University Special Collections was presented as part of the Prima Memorial Series, which presents discourse and discussion around American popular music. 

Thanks to the Gia Maione Prima Foundation's sponsorship, the event was presented as free to the public, removing barriers to cultural and educational engagement. 

The success of Community Day at the Dew Drop Inn demonstrates the power of collaborations between educational institutions and historic venues to preserve, celebrate, and share the rich cultural heritage of New Orleans with diverse members of the community.