Season 2

Complete listed story — includes the ending

1. Accentuate the Positive

Fourteen months after Katrina hit New Orleans, on All Saints' Day, the characters remember their deceased loved ones and focus on continuing to cope with the struggles in their lives. Antoine is pressured by his girlfriend Desiree to get a more serious job. Toni appears to have parenting issues with her daughter Sofia, who has been irritable ever since her father's death. Sonny survives a deadly shooting incident in a bar; he misses his relationship with Annie, who is now living with Davis McAlary. Albert Lambreaux is evicted from the bar he used to operate and live in. NOPD lieutenant Terry Colson is facing a rise in crime. Real estate developer Nelson Hidalgo arrives in New Orleans with plans to help rebuild the city. In New York City, Delmond Lambreaux is offended by jazz club guests criticizing New Orleans music and the city's inability to recover, while Janette Desautel is now working in an elite restaurant under the renowned but surly chef Enrico Brulard.

2. Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky

Vincent Abreu approaches Toni to investigate the death of his son from the storm. He was told by the police that his son was killed by looters but is not given the full story by the NOPD. Albert moves into his old house, which is in worse shape than the bar that he lived in. LaDonna decides to increase customer traffic by offering live music in her bar. Tired of playing for tips on the streets, Sonny looks for bands needing a guitarist. Antoine considers starting his own band and begins looking for other musicians. For Thanksgiving, Annie has dinner with Davis and his family, much to his dismay. Nelson assembles a team of haulers to begin demolition and debris removal work.

3. On Your Way Down

Toni interviews Officer James Distel about Abreu's death and he says he found the body decomposing inside the store, along with bullet casings, which he submitted along with a written report to his captain (Colson told Toni that Distel never filed a report of the murder). Antoine begins rehearsals with his new band mates and believes they need a guitarist to fill out their sound. When collecting mail at Janette's house, Davis discovers her house has been robbed. Janette is forced to return to New Orleans to deal with the issue. When returning home, Sonny sees police raiding his apartment and taking his room mates into custody. In his wrecked apartment, he finds his keyboard is broken and his guitar is missing. Nelson gives Robinette another job and puts him in charge of the demolition. Sofia begins an internship at councilman Oliver Thomas 's office. Desiree gets Antoine a job interview at an elementary school as a music instructor but he ends up leaving when he gets there as he is overwhelmed by all the kids running around. Sonny borrows Harley's guitar so he can audition for Antoine's band, Antoine Batiste and His Soul Apostles. Delmond fires his manager after poor music sales for his latest album. Albert has not begun working on his Indian suit for Carnival but is approved for the Road Home program. LaDonna is attacked by men after closing up the bar. A passerby finds her unconscious and beaten, lying on the floor of her bar and brings her to the hospital. At the hospital LaDonna makes it clear she does not want her husband Larry to know she was raped.

4. Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues?

Antoine is hired as an assistant music instructor at a middle school. Toni speaks with a witness who says police were beating people during the Abreu incident but will not testify. A documentary film maker asks Albert if she can film the process of the making of the suits but he declines. He eventually allows her to film them on Mardi Gras day. Davis gets his Aunt to invest $5,000 in his new record label. Annie performs onstage with Shawn Colvin and is later introduced to her manager. Sonny auditions for the Soul Apostles but Antoine is not overly impressed. LaDonna, still shaken by the attack, continues working at the bar but not at night. Janette, fed up with how her boss treats her, learns Alan Richman (played by himself) who criticized New Orleans restaurants and cuisine in a GQ article, is in the restaurant and she splashes a Sazerac at him. Davis and Aunt Mimi launch their new record label and begin recording with local musicians. Antoine's band debuts for the first time live and when their guitarist June Yamagishi is unavailable for a Christmas Eve gig, they hire Sonny. Delmond, who has now rehired his manager, tells him his plans for a new record, to incorporate the roots of New Orleans jazz into his modern jazz. Delmond runs into Janette, remembers having seen her in the airport the previous year and invites her to his New Year's Eve gig. Sonny is warned by a band mate about blowing his chance at a steady gig due to his drug use. Antoine asks LaDonna to give their sons the Christmas gifts he bought for them. Delmond takes his father out for Christmas dinner and suggests Albert is depressed. Later, Delmond apologizes to his father for his comment and they smoke a joint and laugh together.

5. Slip Away

Albert receives a visit from a city inspector, who says he needs a permit for the work he has been doing to his house and until he gets a licensed plumber to redo the work, his water will be shut off. Albert's Road Home application is rejected as it needs his wife's signature, even though she died in 2003. Fed up, Albert begins packing, ready to move back to Houston. Janette apologizes to Tom Colicchio for the incident involving Alan Richman and he refers her to chef Eric Ripert for a new job. Ripert hires her but she will have to start at the bottom. Davis continues his music recording project, wondering what New Orleans musicians they should get. Davis discovers an impressive rapper named Lil Calliope. Colson investigates the first murder in his district. He believes another crime, a break-in, is related but other officers disagree. LaDonna remains shaken by her attack and is unable to work at the bar at night. Annie begins trying to write her own music. Under financial pressure, Toni reluctantly hands off the Abreu case to another law clinic. Thousands of New Orleans citizens march on City Hall to protest the increasing violence in the city.

6. Feels Like Rain

Toni awakens from a dream featuring her deceased husband, Creighton. Delmond invites his father to stay with him in New York, where he says he has been working on his suit for Mardi Gras and would like his father's help. Delmond shows his father the suit he has been making and tells him it is for Albert to wear on Mardi Gras. Antoine continues to teach his middle school students about jazz music. Sofia finally finds out about her father's suicide. Annie continues to struggle with writing original music lyrics. Sonny is late for his gig with the Soul Apostles and receives half pay and a warning. Sonny is late for his next gig as well and receives half pay and notice he's been fired. Davis, his band and Lil Calliope begin rehearsing. Janette returns to New Orleans to help Jacques, who has been arrested for being in the country illegally. Toni discovers that shell casings matching the ones found from the Abreu murder match the ones from another murder. Detectives visit LaDonna and show her photos of men who were arrested for a similar crime the previous week; LaDonna easily identifies them. Colson joins Toni for a second line parade.

7. Carnival Time

Toni suggests to Sofia that they might scatter her father's ashes in the river at Mardi Gras. However, Sofia slips away, leaving Toni to scatter Creighton's ashes in the Mississippi alone, while Sofia gets drunk at a bar and has to be rescued by Davis. Delmond enjoys the parade in the company of his father. Annie travels to the countryside to experience a Courir de Mardi Gras. Cornell helps Sonny rejoin the Soul Apostles, on condition that Sonny gets clean; Cornell gets him temporary work on an oyster boat, so Sonny misses Mardi Gras and its temptations. Colson is satisfied with a relatively peaceful Mardi Gras after having earlier apprehended a gun-wielding teenager.

8. Can I Change My Mind?

LaDonna breathes a sigh of relief to learn she did not suffer any long term damage but continues to try to hold back a few details from her husband. DJ Davis' band premiers with a parody of George W. Bush. Annie works out her new song with Harley and is eventually convinced to play in public, at the Carrollton Station. Theophile Jones Elie (TJE) school band finally gets their instruments and works on the basics. Delmond comes up with a scheme to help his father with "advances" on a fusion jazz/Indian recording and recruits an all-star band. Sofia gets arrested for possession and reveals she was aware of her father's suicide. Hidalgo manages to sell his printer cables to the city at the original inflated price. Anthony talks to George about Seals' murder. Janette explores a more creative occupation after sampling a Nick's rendition of a David Chang special. Antoine expresses remorse about failing to insist his sons play musical instruments. Albert is hesitant about Delmond's idea. While Hidalgo is dining at the Palm Court Jazz Cafe, Delmond sits in with trumpeter Leroy Jones and plays Jones's composition "Carnival's In Town". Annie sings her song publicly for the first time with Davis watching from a distance.

9. What is New Orleans?

Lil Calliope upstages Davis' 58 Mercury Monterrey records promotion at WWOZ with his own club dance track, which is repeatedly aired later that day. Sofia is snotty during her consultation with a third party lawyer. Annie meets Harley's English friend, Jim Lynch. Annie and Harley make plans to play the square later, after dark, where they later have a profitable set. TJE school band plays a reasonably good rendition of "Fever" and starts raising their expectations. Lt. Colson is transferred to the Homicide unit under Captain Guidry. Chief Lambreaux is particular about the bass playing, the New York studio, and the rest of the arrangements for Delmond's recording. LaDonna learns that her case is on the vanguard for prosecuting her assailants. Janette is enjoying working for David Chang in New York. Antoine steals Kermit's audience from the Boom Boom Room and leads them to the Blue Nile like the pied piper; he sneaks in his middle school student, Robert, telling the bouncer Robert is his son. Kermit seeks his revenge a set later. Lt. Colson takes Toni out for a drink but learns she is still hurting about her husband's death. Toni's witnesses clam up in fear of police retaliation. Annie and Harley are held up on their walk back, and Harley is shot dead.

10. That's What Lovers Do

Annie, Davis, Sonny, and company have an impromptu memorial service for Harley and make a shrine at the site. Robert asks Antoine for help starting a street band. Alex stops by and adds a wicked guitar solo to DJ Davis' numbers. Antoine finally pays a cab fare in full. LaDonna decides to sell the bar and takes her stress out on Antoine and later the rest of her family. James says the new record will stay in the red as a result of spending so much time in the studio. Delmond has other ideas. Hidalgo goes around buying individual houses on spec. Annie and Davis pack up Harley's things for Goodwill, and let Sonny keep Harley's guitar. Sofia begins to enjoy her new job at the coffee house. Janette knocks her co-workers' socks off with a fried chicken and rice flour waffles luncheon and is later asked to lead with her own southern specialties. Toni tells Terry that she has casings from the shootings. Lt. Colson later finds a cache of relevant evidence. Davis has to bump one of his songs off of the sampler to add Lil Calliope's new hit. Sonny makes a pass at Linh and learns he has to secure her father's permission. Wanda curses Antoine and walks off stage after he upstages her song with quips. Delmond's all-star band prefers the New Orleans take of the Indian/Jazz song. Harley's sister drops by to pick up Harley's "This Machine Floats" acoustic guitar and mentions he was from Washington, not Texas.

11. Do Watcha Wanna

Antoine begins to get discouraged and later quits his Soul Apostles band. Janette returns to New Orleans to see her sous-chef released on bail and extends him some additional liberties. Janette is later offered a sweet deal to manage a new restaurant back in New Orleans—much to the chagrin of David Chang. Sonny is traded to Linh's dad's shrimp boat for the day. Lt. Colson collects the casings from a weary Toni. LaDonna prepares to sell the bar with some nostalgia. Davina, Delmond, Cheri, and James pool up $20,000 to give Chief Lambreaux as supposed royalties. Lambreaux believes them and proclaims "We gotta cut another record!". Davis learns that Alex is the new lead guitarist and Lil Calliope adds his new numbers to the second set. Toni visits an ex judge friend in prison. Nelson learns he is off the list of approved vendors because Councilman Thomas is under investigation. Lt. Colson, feigns the casings making a connection shortly before they mysteriously get lost. The Lambreauxs are invited to play the first Friday of Jazz Fest. Ladonna sees her rapist at large, calls 911, and in her anger finds herself again. Her husband realizes she should not sell the bar and that he needs to move his practice back to New Orleans. Sonny is somber about slow leaks in the gulf but is later approved to date Linh. Jill declines storing Delmond's stuff since they are not an exclusive item. Lt. Colson turns the case over to the FBI. The same agent gets amnesia when Toni talks to them. Toni later cold shoulders Terry at the coffee shop. Aunt Mimi gives Davis a check for his half of selling Lil Calliope to another label—less his expenses. Davis forgets his marijuana for the Jazz Fest and later dons an "uptown" New Orleans persona to perform James Brown's "Sex Machine", quitting the band with his dignity intact. Antoine learns Henry Butler chose a different trombone player to play Japan. Antoine sponsors some tutoring lessons for Robert and later coaches some of him and a select band of his fellows to play The Rebirth Brass Band's "Do Whatcha Wanna". Sofia gets a reprieve from being grounded at the Jazz Fest. Antoine and his family get a new house. Davis can't sleep and returns to WWOZ.