UPTOWN

There are a few clubs within walking, biking or cabbing distance of the Tulane and Loyola university campuses.

GASA GASA

4920 Freret St., (504) 304-7110; www.gasagasa.com

This new club's schedule mixes touring indie acts (The Love Language, Sept. 19) and local bands including folk rocker Cortland Burke (Aug. 16) and the bluegrass band The Tanglers (Aug. 17). It's currently home to the Tuesday night Progression showcase hosted by jazz vocalist Sasha Masakowski and featuring young musicians including jazz guitarist Cliff Hines.

MAPLE LEAF BAR

8316 Oak St., (504) 866-9359; www.mapleleafbar.com

The Maple Leaf became an institution based on its regular acts, which once included the late, legendary pianist James Booker. Now the Rebirth Brass Band's longstanding Tuesday night blowout and bands like The Joe Krown Trio and funk and R&B pianist Jon Cleary keep university-area neighbors coming back.

TIPITINA'S

501 Napoleon Ave., (504) 895-8477; www.tipitinas.com

This converted warehouse space became a temple of local jazz-funk and R&B when it opened in the 1970s. A bust of patron saint Professor Longhair is a monument to its early days. The club space features a stage, two long bars and a second-floor balcony. It still hosts local funk and brass bands (Rebirth Brass Band, Aug. 31), local music institutions (Dr. John, Aug. 16) and touring rock bands (Rev. Horton Heat, Aug. 13). On Sundays, there's an early evening Cajun dance party.

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT

There's a cluster of restaurants, bars and music venues within several blocks of each other in the Warehouse District. Here are two notable spots for live music.

CIRCLE BAR

1032 St. Charles Ave., (504) 588-2616 www.circlebarneworleans.com

The cozy confines of the Circle Bar occupy the first floor of a townhouse that looks like a 19th-century relic amid the development in the neighboring Warehouse District. A recent renovation has made the inside a sleeker, more stylish spot to catch touring indie bands and local acts including self-described Russian punk hooligan band Debauche (Aug. 30) and local rock band Caddywhompus (Sept. 27.).

THE HOWLIN' WOLF

907 S. Peters St., (504) 529-5844; www.thehowlinwolf.com

This spacious club is home to an eclectic array of local bands, touring bands and comedy. The Hot 8 Brass Band holds down a regular Sunday night gig. Upcoming shows include a rap double bill featuring Atlanta's Ying Yang Twins with local bounce duo Partners-N-Crime (Sept. 7) and punk stalwarts Black Flag (Sept. 11).

MID-CITY

Mid-City has plenty of bars and nightlife, but overall it isn't known for its live music scene.

CHICKIE WAH WAH

2828 Canal St., (504) 304-4714; www.chickiewahwah.com

This spacious bar in Mid-City schedules a lineup of local jazz acts, singer/songwriters and New Orleans R&B bands. It's also a good spot to catch visiting Americana and alt-country acts. Upcoming shows include Alexis and the Samurai on Tuesdays, bluesman Alvin Youngblood Hart (Aug. 14), and funk and blues guitarist Papa Mali with drummer Johnny Vidacovich (Aug. 29).

FRENCH QUARTER

Not far from the bars and bright lights of Bourbon Street are two venues that regularly schedule top touring and local bands.

HOUSE OF BLUES

225 Decatur St., (504) 310-4999; www.hob.com

The main room at House of Blues hosts everything from rock legends (The Cult, Aug. 31) to hip-hop (weekly Wednesday Jet Lounge showcases) to indie acts (Tegan and Sara, Sept. 15) and more. But the House has morphed into a complex with music presented in the second-floor music room The Parish, at happy hours n the back patio Voodoo Garden and in the recently added Big Mama's Lounge. The lineup also includes burlesque shows and comedy.

ONE EYED JACKS

615 Toulouse St., (504) 569-8361; www.oneeyedjacks.net

The shabbily decadent red and black front barroom of One Eyed Jacks looks like a bordello parlor. The interior of the club is remarkable for its horseshoe-shaped bar in the middle of the space, but the attraction is a lineup of touring indie acts (Austra, Sept. 15) and 1980s retro dance parties.

FRENCHMEN STREET

A two-block stretch of Frenchmen Street offers numerous live music venues. There's Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro (626 Frenchmen St., 504-949-0696; www.snugjazz.com), a more refined setting for contemporary jazz; Blue Nile (532 Frenchmen St., 504-948-2583; www.bluenilelive.com) and Maison (508 Frenchmen St., 504-371-5543; www.maisonfrenchmen.com) host funk, jazz and brass bands; AllWays Lounge and Theatre (2240 St. Claude Ave., 504-218-5778; www.thealwayslounge.net) offers an eclectic mix of music and theater.; and The Hi-Ho Lounge (2259 St. Claude Ave., 504-945-4446; www.hiholounge.net) focuses on local and national alternative music acts including indie rock, electronica and more, as well as comedy, burlesque and films.

ST. CLAUDE AVENUE

If you're looking for nontraditional New Orleans music, you need to get to know St. Claude Avenue in the Faubourg Marigny.

ALLWAYS LOUNGE AND THEATRE

2240 St. Claude Ave., (504) 218-5778 www.thealwayslounge.net

AllWays is half-barroom, half-theater space (though there's often theater going on in the bar) and offers an eclectic mix of music and theater.

THE HI-Ho LOUNGE

2259 St. Claude Ave., (504) 945-4446; www.hiholounge.net

Local and national alternative music acts including indie rock, electronica and more draw big crowds to this divey-looking hangout across from AllWays. The Hi-Ho also offers comedy, burlesque and films on various nights.

Siberia

2227 St. Claude Ave., (504) 265-8855; www.siberianola.com

This outpost for punk and metal bands is a dank vault for hardcore shows, and New Orleans bounce rappers make it into the mix with some regularity. German doom metal band Downfall of Gaia headlines a metal showcase Aug. 24. British singer/songwriter Scout Niblett performs Sept. 5.