The work partnered together the city of New Orleans, Spotify, the iconic Preservation Hall jazz band and a lineup of Jon Batiste (Late Show with Stephen Colbert), Irma Thomas,?Curren$y, Mannie Fresh,?Alynda?Segarra, Boyfriend, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and other local stars who collectively make up six Grammy nominations, seven platinum albums, 23 Hot 100 singles, and more than 100 million Spotify streams.

New Orleans is the most musically diverse city in the world. From jazz to brass, hip hop to gospel, indie to funk, nowhere sounds quite like here. New Orleans Tourism set out to prove it, and to attract visitors to the city, by partnering with Spotify.

First, we created a Spotify playlist that reflected the true sound of the city, as defined by years of listener habits. Then, we brought fans of the playlist together to hear it performed live, from start to finish and in its original order, at the iconic Preservation Hall. The result was a first-of-its-kind, star-studded concert that reimagined what it meant to make a playlist in the first place.?

We called on visitors who are interested in respectful, sustainable travel. These Culture Seekers are visitors who want to go beyond the tourist spots, to get under the skin of a destination, and share in its cultural heritage and values. Their mainline into culture is the internet, which provides travel inspiration daily. But all of this connectivity can breed a deep sense of isolation, and further the apparent divide between “us” and “them.” Culture Seekers wonder: will I be welcomed there, or will I be cordoned off to a surface-level experience? While many destinations promise authenticity, often the reality upon arrival is that the invisible barriers between traveler and local still exist. Our target audience craves these kinds of cultural collisions. To them, traveling is about putting aside what makes us all different, and connecting over a shared experience. The funkier, the more joyful, the better.

The live concert, performed and shot in one day in July 2019, included a lineup of Jon Batiste (Late Show with Stephen Colbert), Irma Thomas,?Curren$y, Mannie Fresh,?Alynda?Segarra, Boyfriend, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and other local stars who collectively make up six Grammy nominations, seven platinum albums, 23 Hot 100 singles, and more than 100 million Spotify streams.

In total, the project produced a historic concert, live album, sponsored Spotify content, broadcast commercials, out of home, social and influencer content, and a?full-length?documentary which has embarked on a successful international festival tour.?

The full-length documentary film was accepted into 26 international film festivals and the campaign earned robust media coverage, including The Drum, Adweek, VIBE, Mic, HipHopWired, and more. Reviews of the campaign include:

- “The true sound of New Orleans, based on fan listening habits.” - Vibe

- “The first Spotify playlist to be recreated live.” - Creativity

- “Bold, complex, and extremely necessary.” - Mic

During the month of the campaign launch, New Orleans welcomed a record number of visitors to its music halls and other attractions around town, with hotel occupancy between 90-100% city wide. To date, the playlist itself has 100m+ streams.