Years ago while attending Festival International in Lafayette, I wandered away from the downtown area and came across a group of five young musicians playing on the street and just killing it. A crowd had formed to listen. When they took a break, I dropped some bills in the hat and asked their name. "We're the Pine Leaf Boys," I was told.

Today the Pine Leaf Boys tour the world, headline festivals and are a staple at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, but then they were playing on the sidewalk outside a festival for donations.

I thought of that last night when word came down that the New Orleans Police Department was shutting down the 100 Brass Band, a group of local musicians, in the neighborhood around Jazz Fest:

NOPD shutting down live music outside Jazz Fest, corner of N Lopez and Maurepas. Never seen this before. pic.twitter.com/OrbJwVaOPq — Tim Ruppert 🌻 (@tmruppert) April 26, 2019

If there's one place street musicians aren't going to bother anyone, it's outside the Jazz Fest gates. Anyone who's gone to Jazz Fest knows that the street parties outside, the music, the neighbors selling water and beer and homemade food, all are part of the experience.

Pull Quote It's a bad look for a city that pays lip service to "culture bearers" to shut down actual culture bearers outside a multi-million dollar festival.

Is there an ordinance against some or all of it? Probably. Should anyone care? Not really.

Brass band jam session outside Jazz Fest stopped by police — but band then plays on at nearby home LATEST: NOPD explains why it shut down brass band near Jazz Fest, says band was not in violation

Back in the day, my friends and I once paid a stranger at the corner of N. Rampart and Esplanade Avenue $1 apiece to ferry us to Jazz Fest in a hooptie reeking of weed. I've bought beer and "ice ... cold ... waaaater!" outside Jazz Fest, from folks who dealt it out of ice chests. I've eaten homemade jambalaya out of Styrofoam bowls, cooked up by folks living near the Fair Grounds.

Much, if not all of this, is in violation of city ordinances to some degree. It's also not worth worrying about.

In a tweet this morning, the city said that the NOPD had shut down the band due to "resident complaints" (fortunately, a neighbor invited the musicians into her yard where they played on private property):

.@NOPDnews responded to resident complaints. We support #NOPD decision to work with both the musicians & the residents to let the musicians continue in a new location. #NewOrleans will always continue to support our culture & seeks ways to balance our traditions & neighbors. — The City Of New Orleans (@CityOfNOLA) April 27, 2019

Was the street band in violation of some ordinance? Maybe. But doesn't the city have something, anything better to do than to attempt to shut down the next generation of musicians who are trying to make a buck — and making a lot of people happy in the process?

New Orleans' music culture isn't restricted to symphony halls, nightclubs or festivals sponsored by Acura and Shell. It's more organic than that, or it should be. And it's a bad look for a city that pays lip service to "culture bearers" to shut down actual culture bearers outside a multi-million dollar festival where Pitbull and Katy Perry are pulling down huge salaries.

You'd think the tourism industry would care. After all, it's not Pitbull and Katy Perry who draw visitors here year-round; it's Doreen Ketchens and Grandpa Elliott and the TBC Brass Band who set up on the streets and make tourists feel like they've discovered something magical.

NOPD assembled across the street to keep an eye on the festivities. They told me brass bands are allowed on private property, but amplified bands are being shut down. pic.twitter.com/Tq6PS4kahH — Tim Ruppert 🌻 (@tmruppert) April 27, 2019

There's obviously a lot more to unpack about the haves and have-nots in the city, as well as politicians who use musicians and Mardi Gras Indians in election and tourism campaigns while doing little to help them the rest of the time.

The Pine Leaf Boys went from playing on the street in Lafayette to becoming regulars on the Jazz Fest Fais-Do-Do stage. Maybe the young men who were shut down at N. Lopez and Maurepas streets will go on to do the same.

In the meantime — let the music play, and let our homegrown musicians play. Please.