Name: Musician remembers 'the smell of death in the air' 20 years after Hurricane Katrina
Uploaded: 2025-08-31T12:03:39.000Z
Duration: 5 min 2 s
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In New Orleans and all along the gulf, remembrances of Hurricane Katrina's landfall 20 years ago today in New Orleans Lower 9th Ward there was music.

This is a traditional second line, a celebration of life.

Basic passive voice

Music, of course, is written into the rich history of New Orleans.

From the silence after Hurricane Katrina came the rebirth of the music, the people and their city.

And when Katrina flooded New Orleans, the music stopped.

Who had money to go to the club or whatever?

Musician Michael Harris grew up in New Orleans in the city's Lower 9th Ward.

He was out of the country touring in August 2005.

And came home to find his house had been destroyed.

Three or four blocks from where the levee actually broke and then barge came through.

I found one piece of paper, how paper survived a piece of paper and a license plate from a vehicle that we had still today.

You know we're coming up on the 20th anniversary and it's still.

You know one of the things I really remember that really shocked me was the smell of death in the air.

I don't know about the body and the mind and whatever, but it's it's still there.

How much did music help you through some of the really the darkest times after Katrina?

There were so many mixed emotions and everything and that was my release.

It helped me to be even more grateful and appreciate music even more.

Music was medicine in a city blessed with such rich history.

The sounds of Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and Louis Prima, to name a few.

So for Michael, there was no doubt music would bring the community together.

I think that the music has helped the city to recover because.

It's like you're saying Psalms in the Bible.

You know, make a joyful noise into the Lord.

It's a neighborhood located in the upper 9th Ward of New Orleans.

Musicians Brantford Marsalis and Harry Connick Junior partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build this and provide housing for musicians who had lost their homes in the storm.

The goal was to preserve the city's unique musical culture.

The first keys were given to homeowners in 2006.

Michael Harris lives in musicians village.

I just knew that for me in my heart it was here in New Orleans in this city.

I had to come back and this is pretty much the story of my life.

Since Katrina, as the city continues to bounce back.

Randy K joins us now in New Orleans outside the spotted cat.

Randy, what was it like reporting today in New Orleans 20 years later?

They feel like Katrina is still everywhere.

Everywhere you turn, there's a vacant lot or a story to tell, but it's really about the music here.

As you know, so when the music venues like the spotted cat reopened after the storm, it was a place for people to go to bond to heal.

You heard that musician in our story say it was therapy for him.

It's a collective therapy, really here in the community.

And then about a year after the storm, you had Jazz Fest return, which not only brought live music, but it poured a ton of money into the community which was much needed.

And then we had those second line parades like we saw today, marking the 20th anniversary.

So we had jazz on the move and it was really a way for this community to heal.

Thank you so much for the reporting from New Orleans.

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Musician remembers 'the smell of death in the air' 20 years after Hurricane Katrina

therapy

spot

doubt

resilient