Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday marks a time to celebrate in many places. It’s a time to party and may include a parade and costumes and music… you got to have music (and probably some beads at least)! Your own town is no doubt having something cool going on and several musical artists will be helping you laissez les bons temps for sure! From Buffalo, New York to the Carnaval de Mardi Gras & Gumbo Cook-Off  in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Mobile, Alabama, to St. Louis, Houston, San Francisco and all points in between, festive Mardi Gras/Carnival-style events will be going on from now until Fat Tuesday,

While it’s impossible to list all the musical events, we decided to at least dig around a bit to find some websites that could give you an insight to the basic Mardi Gras scene and things to do in New Orleans, the place where this celebration is probably the most famous. Here’s a few we found:

– The informative Mardi Gras New Orleans’ site introduces you to the major participants of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, provides updated parade information and parade routes, the truth about Mardi Gras history and traditions, helpful Mardi Gras tips, information on the different krewes and balls, Mardi Gras pictures and videos, the best places to get your Mardi Gras beads, masks, costumes, and delicious kingcakes… and much more!

http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/

– Here’s a list we found online of some music venues in New Orleans:

http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/music/musicclubs.html

– Mardi Gras madness: Rank your favorite New Orleans parades

With Carnival in full swing in New Orleans as we roar toward Mardi Gras, the final weekend of parades officially began Wednesday (Feb. 3) when Druids and Nyx roll Uptown. This site has created a list for you to rank your own favorites throughout the weekend.

http://www.nola.com/mardigras/index.ssf/2016/02/mardi_gras_madness_rank_your_f.html

The list just includes parades rolling in New Orleans from Feb. 3 through Mardi Gras Day, but you can find the routes and additional details for all of the area parades at MardiGras.com. Plus there’s a schedule of their parade cam if you want to watch!

– At the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau site Mardi Gras 2016 Parade Schedule listed but also music listings, where to eat, stay and more. They say New Orleans culture bubbles up from the streets and nowhere is this more evident than in the music scene. You can get blown away by a street performance or live music in one of the many bars and clubs in an around the French Quarter.

http://www.neworleanscvb.com/calendar-events/mardi-gras/parade-schedule/

Might as well save the date: Mardi Gras 2017 is Tuesday, February 28.