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The Blue Nile is well known as the original music club that gave birth to the music culture on Frenchmen Street.

LOCATION: The venue is housed in a building constructed around 1832, frequently cited as one of the oldest, if not the oldest, buildings on the street.
THE DREAM PALACE ERA (1970s–1990s): Before becoming the Blue Nile, the venue was known as The Dream Palace, which opened in 1976 and served as an early incubator for local funk and soul, including performances by The Radiators and The Neville Brothers.
Transition to BLUE NILE (Late 1990s): The Blue Nile officially opened in the late 1990s, taking over the space and solidifying the shift of Frenchmen Street into a live music hub.

SOURCE: https://foresyteapp.com/blue-nile-nola/

[Rads outside the Dream Palace. Photo courtesy of Dave Malone.]

Jon Batiste, Blue Nile 2015

Stephen Colbert Picks Jon Batiste as New Late Show Bandleader

Stephen Colbert Picks Jon Batiste as New Late Show Bandleader (June 2015)

by: Stephen Maloney
Stephen Colbert came to Frenchmen Street to announce that he has selected New Orleans born musician Jon Batiste to be his bandleader when he takes the reigns as host of the Late Show on September 8.

Colbert and Batiste filmed the spot for CBS at the Blue Nile on Frenchmen, where Colbert tucked into a heaping plateful of beignets as Batiste gleefully performed on stage.

Batiste and Colbert are not strangers.

The 28 year old bandleader appeared on The Colbert Report in July of last year, when Batiste’s band Stay Human had Colbert dancing awkwardly in the street.

Take a look at Colbert’s Frenchmen Street announcement below, and catch Batiste’s debut as the Late Show bandleader on CBS September 8, 2015.

READ FULL ARTICLE at OFFBEAT.com

Valerie BernhardAugust 6, 2026

“No One Got Hurt by the People Burning Their Clothes on the Dancefloor” (–Dave Malone on the Radiators, the Dream Palace, and Frenchmen’s early days)

THE RADIATORS’ ORIGIN STORY
[Rhapsodizers, Luigi’s, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dream Palace]

Dave Malone, 10/29/22: My experience in the Radiators was that “Frenchmen Street” was based almost completely around the Dream Palace, which became the Blue Nile. When we were starting the Frenchmen scene–and I firmly believe that we were a factor in starting it–the Dream Palace and Snug Harborwere the only two places there with music. [The Dream Palace opened in January, 1977. Snug Harbor’s predecessor, Valentine’s, opened sometime in the late ’70s.]

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Valerie BernhardAugust 4, 2026