Second Lines: The People's Parade Through the Streets of New Orleans

The People's Parade

A second line is the most democratic form of celebration ever invented. It requires no ticket, no reservation, no invitation. All you need is a pair of feet and a willingness to move them. The term "second line" refers to the people who follow a brass band through the streets — the unofficial participants who join in the dancing and celebrating behind the main procession, which might be a jazz funeral, a wedding, a social club parade, or any occasion that a group of New Orleanians has decided is worth marking with music and movement.

The tradition originates from African American communities in New Orleans and is one of the most vibrant and enduring cultural practices in the city. Social aid and pleasure clubs — organizations that date back to the nineteenth century, originally formed to provide insurance and burial services for Black families excluded from white institutions — sponsor second line parades throughout the fall and spring seasons, each one a rolling celebration of community, identity, and joy.

The Brass Band and the Block

At the front of a second line is the brass band — the engine that drives the whole enterprise. The band sets the tempo, shifts the mood, and determines whether the crowd is strutting, shuffling, or breaking into full-on dance. Behind the band comes the social club, dressed in coordinated outfits — suits, dresses, sashes, and fans — that announce the occasion and the organization. And behind them comes the second line itself: a growing mass of neighbors, friends, strangers, and anyone else who heard the music and could not resist joining in.

Second lines move through neighborhoods, stopping at corners and intersections where the dancing intensifies and the crowd swells. They are neighborhood events in the truest sense — rooted in specific blocks and communities, following routes that have meaning to the people who live there. They are also open to everyone, because in New Orleans, a parade is never a private affair. If you can hear the music, you are invited.

The Heartbeat of the City

The second line is the heartbeat of New Orleans — the rhythmic pulse that connects the city to its deepest cultural roots. It is African in its drumming traditions, Caribbean in its call-and-response patterns, and American in its democratic openness. It is music and dance and community and celebration, all moving through the streets in a wave of joy that transforms ordinary sidewalks and neutral grounds into stages. The second line is what New Orleans sounds like when it is being its most authentic self.