Kerry Irish Pub on Decatur Street has been keeping the lights on and the tunes flowing since 1993, built on the idea that Irish music shouldn’t be an occasional novelty but a nightly promise. It’s a small room with a big heart, the sort of place you stumble upon by following the lilt of a fiddle and the low hum of conversation rather than flashing neon. Seven nights a week you’ll hear songs that belong to the road and the river both—trad one evening, folk or blues the next—and always poured over with the same easy welcome. Inside, it’s long and narrow and full of lived-in charm. Dollar bills bloom across the ceiling, a pool table sits in the corner, and the bartenders pour a Guinness with the kind of care that keeps locals loyal. The music stretches beyond Irish reels into jazz, Americana, and whatever else the night fancies. No frills, no fuss—just a bar that knows exactly what it is. Drop in midweek and you might catch a beloved local turning the whole room on its head, the kind of set where strangers nod to each other like old friends. Most nights the music costs nothing more than the price of your drink, which feels just right in a place built for songs, not spectacle. And because this is New Orleans, there are stories too—whispers of footsteps when no one’s there, doors that close by themselves, a playful chill at your back. Believe them or don’t; the living energy is reason enough to stay. For many, Kerry’s is a sanctuary from Bourbon Street’s racket—a haven for folk and Celtic souls who prefer melody over mayhem.