As Tipitina's prepares to mark its 50th anniversary in 2027, Song Stew Entertainment announces production of Tip's 50: A Musical Remembrance (working title). The feature-length documentary is being produced in partnership with PBS station WYES and Tipitina’s Foundation.  The film will capture the legendary New Orleans venue's outsized role in showcasing New Orleans music and chronicle Tipitina's rich but sometimes turbulent history through the voices of iconic local and national artists who’ve helped make it a global stage.
 
Over nearly five decades, Tipitina's has showcased local, national, and international music legends including Willie Nelson, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman, Dave Matthews, Lenny Kravitz, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Patti Smith, Bunny Wailer, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, just to name a few. The venue has continually been home to Professor Longhair, The Meters, The Neville Brothers, The Radiators, Galactic, and all of the best New Orleans artists over the last five decades.
Interviews completed to date include George Porter Jr., Cyril and Ivan Neville, Dave Malone (The Radiators), John Cleary, Tank Ball, David Shaw (The Revivalists), and all members of the band Galactic — who purchased the club at the end of 2018. Additional interviews and filming with staff, superfans, and artists will continue throughout the summer.  A release date is currently planned for Spring 2027. 
 
The documentary is being directed and produced by filmmaker Jonathan McHugh (founder, Song Stew Entertainment), who serves as Loyola New Orleans Hilton-Baldridge Chair of Music Industry Studies.  Additional producers of the film include PBS Station WYES, the newly revamped Tipitina's Foundation and  The Paramount Music Library, which is sponsoring the film's score, created by Galactic members Robert Mercurio and Ben Ellman.  
 
Further support for the project is being sought by individual donations to Tipitina’s Foundation. 
 
"Among the many films I've directed and produced, the Tipitina's story is particularly close to my heart because I literally started my entertainment career doing live radio broadcasts from the venue while working for Tulane's college radio station, WTUL," said McHugh.
 

GET INVOLVED
Tip's 50: A Musical Remembrance is more than a film — it's a community effort to preserve and celebrate New Orleans music history. The director is looking for great stories from fans' personal experiences from shows they have seen at Tip’s. The film will interview the fan with the best story, video and picture and feature it in the film. The end titles will feature some of these fan pictures and videos.
 To support the Tipitina's Foundation, contribute to the documentary, or learn more about how to be part of telling this story, email tips50film@gmail.com

BACKGROUND
On January 14, 1977, a group of young music enthusiasts known as "The Fo'teen" founded Tipitina's by pooling their limited resources to create a space where piano master Professor Longhair and other New Orleans legends — including The Meters and Earl King — could perform as the local live music culture began to flourish.
 
Tipitina's emerged during a transformative period for New Orleans culture. Within the same few years that the venue and community radio station WWOZ were being born, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was growing in fame as a destination for music lovers worldwide. Combined with the city's first celebrity chef, Paul Prudhomme at K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, and the rise of Cajun food culture, New Orleans entertainment was thrust onto the international stage as the 1980s began.
The venue's rich musical history, its struggle to survive and thrive in one of the world's most competitive live music markets, and its storied past have made Tipitina's one of the most important music venues in the world.
The documentary will feature stories of global music talent as well as highlight the work of unique cultural icons including Bunny Matthews, photographer Michael P. Smith, and live music painter Frenchy — all local figures who help explain why New Orleans remains one of the most vibrant cities in the world.
 
ABOUT TIPITINA'S 
Founded in 1977, Tipitina's is one of New Orleans' most iconic music venues, having hosted countless legendary performances and serving as a cultural anchor for the city's vibrant music scene. Currently owned by the members of Galactic, the venue continues to champion both established and emerging artists. 
 
ABOUT WYES 
 
(Channel 12) is a non-profit, community-licensed PBS member station in New Orleans, Louisiana. As the 12th oldest public television station in the US, it serves Southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast with educational, local, and cultural programming that aims to inform, educate, and inspire through PBS content and original local documentaries focusing on New Orleans' culture, food, and history.
 
 
ABOUT THE TIPITINA'S FOUNDATION The mission of the Tipitina's Foundation is to promote the future of the culture, music, and heritage via the Tipitina's venue and brand. Its goal is to elevate musical and cultural legacies through community outreach and education. The Foundation's signature event, "Instruments A' Comin'," has put hundreds of instruments into the community over the past few decades.

The 2nd and 3rd paragraphs should tell your story. Find an interesting way to explain your musical history without spelling out each step from childhood until now. Describe what sets you apart from everyone else, including some of your most attention-grabbing career highlights.

Conclude your bio by summarizing what's going on in your career, and what's coming up next. Include a call-to-action to contact you for more information, to check out your music, or to sign up to your mailing list.