Iconic New Orleans band makes Hancher-sponsored stop on campus
Monday, June 17, 2013
Written by: Lin Larson and Tom Jorgensen
Image Gallery

In 1972, Preservation Hall Jazz Band (PHJB) was the first act to play the newly opened Hancher Auditorium.

Last week, the band came back to town to mark progress toward a new Hancher and to tell communities across Iowa that, when it comes to confronting floods, we’re all in this together.

PHJB treated an Iowa City audience to a free show on the University of Iowa Pentacrest, Saturday, June 15. The day before, the band opened a celebration of the arts at Iowa that showcased new buildings for Hancher, the School of Art and Art History, and the School of Music.

Previous homes for those programs were destroyed by flooding in 2008. Being from New Orleans, Preservation Hall has weathered its own storms since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

History made the band a natural choice for the Hancher-sponsored Living with Floods project, which united UI colleges and programs with Iowa communities that have faced flooding. PHJB wrapped a statewide tour of these towns with a show in Dubuque on Sunday.

Click the photos below to see PHJB in action.

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Crowds gather on the Pentacrest Saturday ahead of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band performance.
Despite the cloudy weather Saturday, hundreds turned out to watch the performance.
Saturday's performance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was part of Hancher's Living with Floods project.
The event attracted lots of families.
In 1971, Preservation Hall Jazz Band was the first act to play the newly opened Hancher Auditorium.
The Preservation Hall Jazz Band derives its name from Preservation Hall, the venerable music venue located in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter, founded in 1961.