Florida Cajun Zydeco Update! No. 68 | September 2018

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

September 2018

Bonsoir, Catin: Cajun Girl Power

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Maegan Berard and Kristi Guillory jam as Danny Devillier keeps the beat. Turn to page 6.

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

No. 68 | September 2018 4 St. Pete Cajun and Zydeco Social Club Dance

Sept. 4 & 18 (6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.) — Caddy’s on Central

Feature Story 6 Bonsoir, Catin: Cajun Girl Power

“When we play here in Louisiana, everybody’s dancing.”

Cajun Zydeco Community 28 Barber is in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame

Video link to Grant Clement interview by Steve Riley.

30 Acadians Were Once Refugees, Too

Scholar Warren Perrin points out similarities of Acadians’ plight in 1750s to refugees escaping oppression in various areas of the world today.

32 Festival-O-Rama

Some listings from floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals

41 Halloween Party at BBC Features JB’s Zydeco Zoo

Party starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26.

42 Outside Florida

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The St. Pete cajun & zydeco

Social Club est. 2018

Tuesday, Sept. 4 Tuesday, Sept. 18 6 P.M. TO 9: 30 P.M. Twice monthly Cajun and zydeco dance at Caddy’s on Central in downtown St. Pete on the first and third Tuesdays. Good mix of danceable music by Cajun and zydeco artists singing about death, divorce, drinking and dancing.

No cover charge. No membership dues.

Caddy’s is at 217 Central Ave., St. Pete 33701.

Go to www.FloridaCajunZydeco.com for more information.

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When we play here in Louisiana, everybody’s dancing.

BONSOIR, CATIN

CAJUN GIRL POWER

BONSOIR , C ATIN began in

2004 when three ladies, Kristi Guillory, Christine Balfa and Yvette Landry, started jamming around a campfire during

Catin means “evocative, creative, strong female who is smart, thoughtful and sexy with a little bit of sass and edge,” says Bonsoir, Catin.

Bonsoir, Catin at Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, Girard Park, Lafayette, Oct. 13, 2017: Anya Burgess, Maegan Berard, Kristi Guillory, Christine Balfa, Kelli Jones, and Ashley Hayes Steele.

Louisiana Folk Root’s Balfa Week. Kristi and Yvette met one evening at the Blue Moon Saloon.

They started talking and Yvette mentioned to Kristi that she played

bass. Kristi, who was on a hiatus from music, had been looking to start a band and the wheels began turning. Later that year, Kristi met up with Yvette at Louisiana Folk

7 Photo by David Simpson

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com Root’s Balfa Week where Kristi was volunteering as a folklorist interviewing the master artists, and Yvette was a student. “After spending a week together and hanging out, Yvette and I were jamming around a camp fire with Christine Balfa, who I’ve known since I was 10 years old and first starting out on accordion,” says Guillory.

“And the guy said something like, ‘Maybe the next one will be a musician.’”

together and have some girlfriends and play some music,” Guillory said. “Actually, play it in a style “We all instantly recognized how that rocks out.” By ‘rocks out,’ easy it was to play with each other, Guillory meant honky-tonk. “It’ll so I asked them if they wanted to be a little bit more honky-tonk. It’ll start a band and luckily they both be Cajun music, but sort of with said yes.” They started throwing that driving beat that Christine around ideas of what the band and I like to play,” she said. “A real could be and sound like. Balfa strong dance beat.”

Week ended and they all went But a primary source of their back to their day-to-day lives. inspiration to form the all“We were talking about how much fun it would be to get

woman band lies in an experience Balfa had at a store. Somebody

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Bonsoir Catin at Festivals Acadiens et Creoles, Girard Park, Lafayette, Oct. 13, 2012: Kristi Guillory, Danny Devillier, Christine Balfa, Yvette Landry.

introduced Christine as Dewey Balfa’s daughter, and someone said, “Since he didn’t have a son, Christine had to take up the music.” That coupled with another time when Balfa was pregnant, and Balfa Toujours was playing at Whiskey River. Somebody asked if she was having a boy or a girl. Balfa told the inquiring man it would be a girl. “And the guy said something like, ‘Maybe the next one will be a musician,’” as Guillory related it.

“Christine and I were talking about how much fun it would be,” Guillory recalls, “to play music again, but this time get together as girlfriends and play some music that really rocks out, that’s a little more

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Bonsoir, Catin, Festival International, April 25, 2015: Anya Burgess, Maegan Berard, Callie Guidry, Laura Huval, Kristi Guillory, Christine Balfa, Ashley Hayes Steele, with Danny Devillier in back on drums.

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Photo by David Simpson

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honky-tonk. Since we both have daughters, we also wanted to put together an all-female Cajun band that really rocks to prove to our daughters by example that the old Cajun prejudice toward women playing on stage is definitely a thing of the past.”

“About a week or so after Balfa Camp, I called up Christine to see if she was serious about starting a band,” Kristi continued. Christine was not only game, but she had fiddle player Anya Burgess in mind to round out the band. One

thing led to another, and before they even had a repertoire Yvette was asked to put a band together as part of the grand opening ceremonies for the Butte La Rose Visitor’s Center. Not long after that Kristi called up the Blue Moon Saloon and booked the band’s first full length gig. “We started rehearsing and brought some different tunes to play and before long we were playing like we’ve been together for years,” Kristi says. The rapport was instant and the rest, as they say, was history.

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Photo by David Simpson

THE BAND Kristi Guillory (accordion, vocals) Kristi Guillory was a child prodigy of accordion. Gallery’s uncle, Paul Duhon, a bones player, easily coaxed her into the weekly Champions’ gas station jam sessions where she was introduced to some of the local greats: Dewey Balfa, Octa Clark, and Aldus Roger. She recalls, “With so few young people interested and the unusual fact that I was a young girl, I was showered with attention and an intense amount of nurturing. D.L. Menard would call, ‘We’re cooking supper at the house.

Bring the little girl.’” I remember that was my name, ‘the little girl.’

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We'd go to hang out. They wanted me to learn everything. That community made it a no-brainer.”

She formed her own band and recorded three albums of mostly original music while still in high school, was named Female Vocalist of the Year by Cajun French Music Association when she was 17 years

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com old, and has since earned her place among the modern masters. At the age of 19, she decided to retire from music and pursue an academic career at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, saying she was frustrated with the restrictions of playing traditional Cajun music solely in the styles inherited from generations of largely amateur music makers of the 20th century.

She was not the only musician that yearned to make Cajun music in her own style. Soon after, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys released their Bayou Ruler album in 1998 that would change the course of Cajun music blending Cajun music with a variety of hard-roots sounds borrowed from electric blues, roadhouse honkytonk, and pedal-to-the-metal rock

n’ roll — music that Riley said his generation wanted to hear. Other Cajun bands formed that further bent the definition of Cajun music: Pine Leaf Boys, Feufollet, Red Stick Ramblers and Kevin Naquin.

Guillory returned to writing and producing her own compositions with the founding of Bonsoir, Catin in 2004, and later in 2012 with a side project of alt-country English language tunes inspired

by Paul Simon, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell that resulted in the album Broken Glass. Kristi is obsessed with sad, pitiful Cajun songs, raunchy drinking ones and the fantastical lyrics of old Cajun a capella ballads. She is a poet, a folklore scholar, an emotional and passionate vocalist, and a fearless songsmith.

Photo by David Simpson

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Christine Balfa (guitar, vocals) Christine Balfa is the daughter of the legendary Cajun fiddler, Dewey Balfa, and bandleader of Balfa Toujours. Balfa Toujours has become a well-established Cajun music band, recording several albums and performing

throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Christine Balfa appeared in the movie The Big Easy, and she is also the founder and director of Louisiana Folk Roots, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Louisiana traditions.

Christine Balfa is an inspired musician, fueled by her passion for her culture and the Balfa family legacy. Christine is also a gifted French speaker, writer of Cajun songs and a youth teacher at the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra.

She is a founder of the Louisiana Folk Roots organization. “I think it's important for each generation to add their own voice... in a hundred years people might look back and say, ‘Why are they just singing about old things?’”

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Anya Burgess (fiddle, vocals) Anya Burgess grew up in New England and began playing music at a very young age. She attended Bowdoin College to become a classically trained musician, John C. Campbell Folk School where she studied folklore, and Indiana University where she completed a program in violin making and stringed instrument repair. She owns and operates a violin shop, Sola Violins, in

downtown Lafayette, LA. Three time Grammy-nominated Anya Burgess has become one of the most important figures in South Louisiana fiddle culture. She has since taken the Cajun repertoire and infused it with her own unique style. Anya’s fiddling and singing is powerful, rich and infused with a deep reverence for the old ways of doing things. Anya also performs with the Magnolia Sisters. “Part of my mission with the store is to connect the classical and traditional Cajun music cultures, because I come from both,” Burgess says. “There isn’t a lot of crossover, really. I thought a violin shop was a natural place for everyone to come together and to get a deeper understanding and a respect for each other’s worlds.”

Photo by David Simpson

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update! her “guitar heroes.” Maegan’s father is the late, Grammynominated Cajun musician Al Berard, and she toured extensively with his band, the Basin Brothers.

Her melodic playing, rock n’ roll stylings and energetic presence is an added layer depth, soul and excitement to the group. Maegan is a prolific songwriter and native French speaker. She also performs with the group Sweet Cecilia with her sister Laura and cousin Calli.

Of Sweet Cecilia, Maegan says, “We work so well together because we have our certain vocal parts.

Maegan Berard Laura usually sings lead, I sing low (electric guitar, vocals) harmony, and Callie takes high harmony,” Berard said. “Singing Maegan Berard joins Bonsoir, Catin as electric lead guitarist. She tight harmony that is on pitch is so began playing guitar at age 12, and hard to do, but we’ve been doing it together for so long.” calls Jimmy Page and her father

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Ashley Hayes (bass, vocals) Ashley Hayes began her musical journey with Feufollet at the age of 11 as a guitarist. She traveled and performed with the young group and recorded some of the finest innovative Cajun material of the decade. Ashley continued to play Cajun music with Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys, and contributed to the band’s repertoire as a vocalist and songwriter.

Danny Devillier (drums) Danny Devillier is a gifted composer and holds a Masters degree in Theory and Composition.

Danny’s playing is deeply rooted in rock n’ roll and jazz. As a Cajun drummer, his approach to rhythm is innovative and fresh. He is backbone of the Bonsoir, Catin rhythm section.

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WHAT’S IN A NAME?

THE NAME BONSOIR, CATIN comes from an old Amede Ardoin song

called “Amede Two-Step,” where he says the phrase in the first line.

The phrase catin is an old term of endearment that meant something along the lines of baby doll before French was nationally standardized.

Since the standardization, the term has taken on a negative connotation. “We never had any hesitation in using the name. We really liked how it sounded in the context of Amede’s song,” Kristi says. As a result they are forging their own meaning of the word with women referring to themselves as a catin, meaning an “evocative, creative, strong female who is smart, thoughtful and sexy with a little bit of sass and edge.”

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Dancers are moving to the infectious music at a Bonsoir, Catin performance.

A CHANGE OF TUNE IN 2007, DAN WILGING reviewed the first album by Bonsoir,

Catin, Blues à Catin, and said: "Even though BSC is coincidentally mostly an all-women’s group (male drummer Jude Veillon heats the

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Roddy Romero takes the stage with Maegan Berard and Bonsoir, Catin.

beat), they never wear their femininity on their sleeve. Instead, they sing about battered old trucks, jukeboxes, rambling from place to place and boozing it up so much that the Prozac wears off. They aren’t afraid to rock their instrumentals (“Tiger Rag Blues”) or pound their waltzes (“mémoires dans mon coeur”). Guillory sings in a gusty, uninhibited voice while Balfa’s projecting, piercing vocals have been missing from recordings for too long…. Like the songs they transform and perform, BSC is among the newer bands breathing life into Cajun music."

Bonsoir, Catin went on to record Vive L’Amour in 2009. Their original

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com drummer Jude Veillion, a band member from Kristi’s high school band Reveille, had to step down in 2011 due to time constraints.

To fill the gap the band picked up the multi-talented and multiinstrumentalist Danny Devillier. Danny is well versed in music theory and plays for several local bands around the area in addition to being a well-respected musician.

With the addition of Danny and his knowledge of music from a scholarly perspective, the band was forced to really up their music game. “Danny really made us think of things differently, like how our songs were composed, melodies, rhythms, stuff like that,” Kristi added.

With Danny on board and the band thinking about their sound in a new way, they started playing around with adding new instruments, mainly the electric guitar. They hired a few electric guitarists for some gigs to see how it would change the dynamic. “I started seeing Maegan Berard out and about after we spent some time together at a festival in Nova Scotia. After watching her play and doing a couple of gigs together we decided to invite her to join the band and she accepted.” The result added a whole new element to the traditional sound. With the addition of Danny and Maegan and the fact that the band had not recorded an album in six years, it was time to get into the studio for their third record.

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LIGHT THE STARS “AFTER THE BIRTH of

my second daughter I made a conscious effort to be a stay at home mom and work on my music,” Kristi continued. The result was nine original songs in little less than a year that mixed the styles of her solo effort and traditional Cajun music that would become the beginning of their third album.

“Six months before we were scheduled to be in the recording studio we started rehearsing a couple times a month.” To learn the new material, the band took it one song at a time until they felt they had a general structure. They recorded a rough demo of the album and sent it over to Joel Savoy, the engineer they chose for the new record. “When we got into the recording studio, Joel had some incredible ideas about the arrangements and before long his role shifted naturally to co-producer.” Once the record was complete Joel offered to release it on his Valcour Records label, and the band agreed to continue their partnership.

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com Bonsoir, Catin’s third album, Light the Stars, is a collection of fresh, evocative new Cajun music that pushes the limits of imagination and form. It stays true to their fresh Cajun sound, a unique blend of ancient ballads, dancehall era gems, swamp pop stylings and rock n’ roll blues infused with a more modern sound.

The name Light the Stars is taken from a line in one of the songs on the album by Natalie Mae Palms called Personne Que Toi (No one but you).

“We wanted to capture the unforgettable feeling we had when recording the album,” Kristi added.

They took the name Light the Stars, meaning to do something with complete passion. This, perhaps more than anything defines what Bonsoir, Catin is all about. “We value our personal relationships

Blues a Catin (2006)

Vive L’Amour (2009)

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update! with each other more so than the musical entity that is Bonsoir, Catin.” The band is more of a small family and considers each other dear friends, something very rare in a musical group with such talented musicians.

Light The Stars (2014)

L’aurore (2017)

As for what she wants people to get out of their music Kristi says, “We’re not just a Cajun dance band. We’re songwriters and innovators.” Kristi went on to say, “The Cajun songs recorded in the 30s, 40s and 50s are referred to now as traditional standard tunes, somebody had to write them. I think that’s how music will keep growing in this area. We have to promote creativity in this type of music.” Kristi continued, “If you’re creating from within the culture it’s real, it’s not forced. I hope our music inspires other people to do the same.”

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L'AURORE Reviewing the album L’Aurore, Ben Sandmel writes, “One especially innovative new Cajunmusic project is the eclectic yet cohesive L’Aurore by the respected veteran musicians who comprise the band Bonsoir, Catin. Among this album’s many unexpected delights is a brief, beautiful interlude of original classical music—replete with a string section and a French horn—that connects the songs “L’aurore” and “Si loin.” Bonsoir, Catin’s live performance of the entire album was a high point of last year’s Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in Lafayette.”

According to Offbeat Magazine’s reviewer Nick Pittman, the question of what does it mean

to be a modern Cajun band is answered on Bonsoir, Catin’s L’Aurore. He says, “Without daring to confine themselves, the band members Christine Balfa, Anya Burgess, Maegan Berard, Kristi Guillory and Danny Devillier build layers of rhythm around the poetry of Guillory and new member Ashley Hayes (veteran of Feufollet and Kevin Naquin & the Ossun Playboys). The pair strings together a narrative of losing love and finding it where they shouldn’t. They keep to Cajun song structure, but with a more poetic modern edge. The record starts by swirling together dreamy alt-country and pop with a beauty worthy of Neko Case’s “Deep Red Bells.” ‘L’aurore’ and ‘Si Loin’ form a two-song suite of what might be

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Anya Burgess joined by Joel Savoy, co-producer of Bonsoir, Catin’s last three albums.

the first classical arrangements in the genre…. Guest vocals by Roddie Romero, and keys by Eric Adcock—bring piano to the forefront, which adds to its intimate quality.”

Pittman says, “Bonsoir, Catin unleashes a raucous and earthy foot stomper that is sure to be a live favorite [with ‘The Squirrel Song’]. Closer to home, they cover

‘All Night Long’ by Clifton Chenier and the traditional ‘Cher Minoux,’ and touch on BeauSoleil’s style with ‘J’ai vu Lucille.’”

L’Aurore’s tracks are all fresh and well-built no matter the style the band was exploring at the moment. Here, Bonsoir, Catin is not redefining themselves but evolving without ever asking, “Are you sure Aldus Roger done it this way?”

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Barber in the Lousiana Music Hall of Fame As reported by Herman Fuselier of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser and posted to Facebook, few people can claim their barber is in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

But that’s different for customers of Grant Clement, who has been cutting hair for 60 years.

said Grant Clement, 78. “When he’d get to some words he couldn’t speak, he’d start singing ‘Ticky ticky ta, ticky ticky toe.’

But the other brother was having trouble. “My brother Purvis couldn’t speak French that well,”

the song to No. 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1961. Doug Kershaw revived the

“After a while, it came out ‘diggy liggy la’ and ‘diggy liggy lo.’”

Legendary record producer J. D. Miller of Crowley turned that Music fame struck in the 1950s French gibberish into “Diggy Liggy when Grant and his brothers, Terry Lo,” a 1952 hit for the Clement and Purvis, were riding in the back Brothers. Miller later wrote English of a pickup truck. On their way to words, which led to Jimmy C. a gig, the brothers practiced a song Newman’s Nashville hit in 1954. that Terry had written in French.

Rusty & Doug (Kershaw) took

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See a video interview by Steve Riley with barber Grant Clement: https://www.theadvertiser.com/videos/news/2018/08/15/-little-offtop-steve-riley/37492209/ tune in 1969, when it hit No. 1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. Buck Owens and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band are other prominent names that recorded it.

Clement proudly displays his

Hall of Fame award at Don’t Barber Shop in Scott, where he has cut hair for 40 years. Through the years, Clement cut the hair of the late D.L. Menard, Aldus Roger and other local music legends.

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Acadian Scholar on Parallels Between Acadians and Today’s Refugees Warren Perrin, chairman of the Acadian Heritage & Culture Foundation, Inc., and author of Acadian Redemption, a biography of Beausoleil Broussard, sees similarities between the plight of Acadians in their homeland of Nova Scotia in the 1750s and today’s refugees seeking asylum in Europe and the United State.

The first boatload of Acadians came to Louisiana in February 1765, led by the leader of the Acadian resistance, Joseph Beausoleil Broussard.

Under harsh British rule, he was to witness many acts of humiliation forced upon his family.

After Britain conquered Nova Scotia, intolerant governors exploited Acadians. Broussard’s whole life was consumed with perpetrating a series of acts of resistance against the English. He was labeled an outlaw and pirate, and a bounty was placed upon his head.

In the summer of 1755, Gov. Lawrence decided to deport the

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

Acadians. As the head of a paramilitary resistance composed of Acadians, priests and Native Americans, Broussard led a guerrilla campaign using terror tactics against the English. He even operated a privateer against British vessels on the Bay of Fundy.

not remain in the colony. He then led an epic voyage with 202 Acadians to Louisiana, where the Acadian culture was transplanted. On April 8, 1765, while he was in New Orleans, Broussard was named the Captain Commandant of the Acadians in the Attakapas Territory by the colonial Spanish The conflict was violent and relentless, resulting in the deaths government. Shortly after leading his people to the Bayou of many, including Broussard’s wife, Agnes, and eldest son, Jean- Teche area for resettlement, he Gregoire. After the fall of Quebec died in October 1765. An effort

by University of Louisiana at in 1759, he ended up being Lafayette is underway to locate imprisoned for four years with this lost Acadian settlement. hundreds of his fellow Acadians (all were labeled “terrorists”) on According to Perrin, “Acadians Georges Island in Halifax Harbor. are generous people who truly understand what it means to The war ended in 1763. In 1764, Broussard was released on be at the mercy of the rest of humanity.” the condition that the Acadians

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FESTIVAL-O-RAMA SEPTEMBER 2018 Aug. 31–Sept. 2, 2018 — Ninigret Rhythm & Roots Festival (Rhode Island) CZ bands include Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Cedryl Ballou and The Zydeco Trendsetters, Feufollet, CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, David Greeley, Ed Poullard and Preston Frank, Magnolia Cajun Band and Donna The Buffalo. Rhythm & Roots Festival at Ninigret Park, Charlestown, Rhode Island. http://www. rhythmandroots.com/ws/pages/home.php

Sat., Sept. 1, 2018 — 36th Annual Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival (Opelousas, LA) 7 a.m. to midnight. Admission $15, 12 and under $5. Website: https:// www.zydeco.org/

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

Sat., Sept. 1, 2018 — Zydeco Breakfast (Opelousas, LA) 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. A breakfast with live zydeco music at Courthouse Square, Opelousas. Website: http://www.stlandrychamber.com/ events/details/zydeco-breakfast-6797

Sat., Sept. 1, 2018 — Cane River Zydeco Festival (Natchitoches, LA) Bands include 1:30 p.m. On Point Band; 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Jeremy Fruge and Zydeco Hot Boys;, and 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Marcus Ardoin & Da Zydeco Legends. All musical events are held on the downtown stage in the historic district, Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Sept. 7-8, 2018 --- Lydia Cajun Food Fest (Lydia, LA) Bands will include Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners, Donna Angelle and The Zydeco Posse, Seasoned Soul, Brittany Pool Band, 5 O'Clock Shadows, Inner Trust, Kross Country. Website: https://www. lydiacancerassociation.org/band-schedule

Sept. 14-16, 2018 — St. Theresa Bon Ton Festival (Sulphur, LA) St. Theresa Bon Ton Festival is a local tradition that has been going on for 38 years. It is known for the great music and family friendly atmosphere. The festival includes live and silent auctions, carnival rides, game booths, bingo, country store, washer board tournaments, garage sale, a sweet shop, delicious food booths including fried catfish, crawfish étouffée, pork jambalaya, gumbo, barbecue, funnel cakes and of course, live music! Times: Friday 5-10:30pm; Saturday 10am - 10:30pm; Sunday 10am - 3pm. Admission: Free. Location: St.

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Festival Acadiens Et Creoles is held on the second weekend in October.

Theresa Catholic Church - church grounds. Address: 4822 Carlyss Drive, Carlyss, LA 70665. Website: https://www.visitlakecharles.org/ event/st-theresa-bon-ton-festival/33926/

Sept. 28-30, 2018 — Cajun Bayou Hurricane Festival (Cut Off, LA) Celebrating Cajun culture, this festival features delicious food, music, and carnival rides for all ages. Address: 205 West 79th St., Cut Off, LA 70345 Website: https://www.lacajunbayou.com/calendar-of-events/ festivals-and-events/coyc-hurricane-festival

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October 4-7, 2018 — Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance (N. Carolina) This listing will be updated with bands as they are announced. https:// shakorihillsgrassroots.org/

October 12-14, 2018 — Festivals Acadiens et Creoles (Lafayette) Many bands at different venues include Chubby Carrier, Steve Riley, Kevin Naquin, Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys, Pine Leaf Boys, Jesse Lege, Jeffery Broussard, Wayne Toups, and many more. List of bands: http://www.festivalsacadiens.com/music. Festivals Acadiens et Creoles in Lafayette, LA. Celebrate the rhythm of Cajun and Creole life at Festivals Acadiens et Créoles Dance to a traditional waltz. Two-step to the upbeat rhythms of accordions, fiddles and ti fers (triangles). Step back in time as traditional crafters demonstrate their artistry. Festivals Acadiens et Créoles pays tribute to the Cajun and Creole cultures with a combination of FREE festivals. Held the second weekend in October! http://www.festivalsacadiens.com

October 11-14, 2018 — Suwannee Roots Revival (Live Oak, FL) Keller Williams' PettyGrass Featuring The HillBenders, Donna the Buffalo, The Seldom Scene, Samantha Fish, Peter Rowan Free Mexican Airforce, Jim Lauderdale, Verlon Thompson, Rev. Jeff Mosier. Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park is pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Suwannee Roots Revival featuring some of the finest in Americana, Bluegrass, Newgrass, Zydeco, Blues, and more! The event takes place Thursday, October 11 - Sunday, October 14 at the magical Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SOSMP) in Live Oak, FL. With multiple

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Donna The Buffalo will be performing at Suwannee Roots Revival 2018.

stages (Amphitheater Stage, Porch Stage, Dance Tent, Music Hall, and Music Farmer’s Stage) Suwannee Roots Revival is jam-packed with stellar music and dance! A handful of bands will perform multiple sets and some artists will be participating in workshops throughout the weekend. This family-friendly festival includes four days of music, camping, yoga, a Kids Tent, as well as campground pickin’ sessions hosted by Sloppy Joe at Slopryland and Quartermoon at Bill Monroe Shrine as well as throughout SOSMP! Set in the midst of 800 acres of Spanish moss-draped oak and cypress trees along the Suwannee River, the venue is a playground for endless activities such as swimming, canoeing, kayaking, disc golf, and biking. Tickets: www. suwanneerootsrevival.com/tickets/

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October 26-27, 2018 — South Louisiana Blackpot Festival and Cookoff (Lafayette, LA) SBands include Lost Bayou Ramblers, Pine Leaf Boys, Preston Frank, Revelers, Ed Poullard, Horace Trahan, Goldman Thibodeaux, Courtney Granger, Cedric Watson, Jesse Lege, and many others.

South Louisiana Blackpot Festival and Cookoff in Acadian Village, Lafayette, LA. The South Louisiana Black Pot Festival & Cookoff is one of the most unique festivals in Louisiana. Held annually at Lafayette’s Acadian Village, the festival celebrates its 5th year this October with two days of great music, dancing, food, camping & jamming. The festival is a cooperative of south Louisiana musicians, artists and southern culture enthusiasts, creating an unprecedented gathering

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of south Louisiana’s hottest roots bands, as well as a number of groups from all over the country. Live performances range from Cajun & Zydeco, to Creole, Swing, Hot Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, Americana, Irish & Old-Time. Plus, an old-fashioned black pot cook-off, accordion contest, called square dancing, and ample camping space for tents & RV’s. Confirm the dates and location at http://blackpotfestival.com

November 2-4, 2018 — Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival (Pensacola) Nov. 3 Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas. The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is one of the best-regarded, most popular arts festivals in the United States. The three-day, juried art show draws more than 200 of the nation's best painters, potters, sculptors, jewelers, graphic artists, craftsmen and other artists. The Festival is ranked #30 in the nation

by Sunshine Artist Magazine. Location: Seville Square, Pensacola, Florida. Website: http://www.ggaf.org

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

November 3-4, 2018 — Halifax Art Festival (Daytona Beach) 2nd oldest continual art festival in the state of Florida and attracts well over 30,000 visitors annually. This free festival, open to the public, on historic downtown Beach Street from Orange Avenue to Bay Street n front of the Riverfront Shops of Daytona Beach. The Festival will have over 200 juried artists and artisans exhibiting original two-dimensional art, photography, sculpture, jewelry, textiles, ceramics, wood, metal, and glass pieces for purchase. The Festival has expanded to celebrate seasoned as well as emerging artists and craftsmen. There will be two distinct exhibit areas. International street cuisine and good old-fashioned festival food will be featured for the hungry festival attendees. Beach Street cafes and restaurants will be open and featuring festival specials. There will, also, be live entertainment with musicians playing a variety of popular music.

Website: http://halifaxartfestival.com/

Nov. 8-11, 2018 — Riverhawk Music Festival (Brooksville, FL) Elizabeth Cook, Reckless Kelly, Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand, Shiny Ribs, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, Frank Vignola Trio, Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s. Website: http://www.riverhawkmusic.com/

November 8-11, 2018 — Cracklin Festival (Port Barre, LA) Bands include Lance Dubroc, Clay Cormier & The Highway Boys, Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin Cajuns, JC Melancon and Bayou Rock Band, Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys, Dustin Sonnier and The Wanted, Delta Badhand, Johnnie Sonnier and Cajun Heritage, High Performance, Warren Storm and Willie T with Cypress. Website: http:// www.portbarrecracklinfestival.com/

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Contributed

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Tom Rigney & Flambeau will perform at Suncoast Jazz Festival.

November 16-18, 2018 — Suncoast Jazz Festival (Clearwater Beach, FL) featuring Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Cajun band from San Francisco.

Tom Rigney frequently performs in fiddle duets with Michael Doucet on the west coast. The Friday Night Swing Dance usually features Tom Rigney and other swing-danceable bands. More info on the Friday Night Swing Dance to come. https://www. suncoastjazzfestival.com/

Yes! You want to plan your trips to out-of-state festivals farther in advance. This is just a sampling. Many more festivals listed through end of 2018 at FloridaCajunZydeco.com/festivals.html

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Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY AT BBC Fri., Oct. 26, 2018 — JB's Zydeco Zoo (Tallahassee) 6:00 p.m. at Bradfordville Blues Cldub, 7152 Moses Lane, Tallahassee, FL. Phone 850-906-0766. Website: bradfordvilleblues.com. The Zoo’s music is high energy, rockin’, rhythmic zydeco in the vein of Beau Jocque, Clifton Chenier, C.J. Chenier, Rockin' Dopsie and Buckwheat Zydeco.

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com Outside Florida Atlanta Cajun Zydeco Association Dance Fri., September 21, 2018

Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band On Friday, September 21, ACZA has teamed up with the Vista Room to welcome back to Atlanta the best-known Zydeco band in the US today: the Grammywinning Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band. Chubby Carrier has recorded a dozen albums and headlined major Cajun-Zydeco festivals across the country for the past twenty years. In 2011, he won a Grammy Award for Zydeco Junkie.

A third-generation Zydeco musician and consummate showman, Chubby and the band mix the traditional accordion and washboard boogie with dashes of 70s funk, spices of classic R&B, and swampy covers of song classics.

General admission: $15 advance / $20 at door. Info: http://aczadance.org/

NYC Cajun Zydeco Events http://www.letszydeco.com/

Philadelphia Cajun Zydeco Events http://www.allonsdanser.org

Houston Cajun Zydeco Events http://www.zydecoevents.com/texaszydecoevents.html

Southern California Events http://www.icajunzydeco.com

Portland Events http://www.cascadezydeco.com/

Seattle Events http://gatorboyproductions.com/