Latest news with #Zydeco
New York Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Down South, a Trail Ride is a Party on Horseback — and So Much More
When outsiders hear that Drake LeBlanc spends his weekends in his hometown, Lafayette, La., trail riding with friends, they might be forgiven if they imagine that the 27-year-old horseman meanders through the woods nose-to-tail with a few other cowboys. After all, that's what 'trail ride' often means elsewhere: a placid, al fresco mounted stroll. Yet when LeBlanc, a documentary filmmaker, rides his Tennessee Walking Horse, Koupé, it is alongside sometimes hundreds or even thousands of other riders, most of whom are Creole or Black like him. They ride to the beat of Zydeco music thumping from sound systems on flatbed trailers that wend between the trees alongside the horses. And they snack on pork steak sandwiches handed over by chefs tending smokers in the backs of pickup trucks trundling beside the herd. Across the American South, this version of a trail ride has grown from a traditional community event into a collective show of Black horsemanship, a celebration with the vibe of a cookout astride, with its own line dances, theme songs and swag. 'I think the trail ride is one of the most beautiful representations of the complexity of Louisiana culture,' LeBlanc said in an interview in May. 'You can see us pay homage to our ancestors and the people who come before us that were share croppers and cattle ranchers and cowboys and people who did the hard work. And you can also see how these often-oppressed communities make the most out of what they have access to,' he added. 'And how we continue to preserve our culture.' With scores of Black trail ride clubs from Texas to the Carolinas alone, according to some counts, such an extravaganza can be found cantering any weekend across many Black Southern communities. They have blossomed from more sedate, family-reunion-style affairs of decades ago to days-long horsy shindigs that can draw up to 15,000 people, like the Ebony Horsemen Trail Ride does in Shelby, N.C. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
More than crawfish, Mudbug Madness unites with zydeco, dancing
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – It is a hot Memorial Weekend, perfect for eating unlimited crawfish, dancing to Zydeco music, and supporting the community. Mudbug Madness is back at the festival as one of Louisiana's largest Cajun festivals. 'We have tons of food vendors, more vendors actually than we've ever had before, so whether you want a gyro, a ribeye sandwich, some pulled pork, some tacos, we have Mezzas down on the other stage, or some crawfish, crawfish etouffee if you don't want to peel it yourself, we've got you covered,' said Elissa Little, the festival chairman for Mudbug Madness. Little says for performances, the main stage features Zydeco music with Country at night, and local and regional talent on the second stage. Bear's Fest: 18+ bands, DJ's, food and more The festival also has fun for little ones with Kid's on the Bayou. Brandon King is a first timer at the festival. He is from Los Angeles, California and says he loves crawfish. 'I think festivals like this are important because it brings the entire community together whether you're Black, White, Asian, Mexican, no matter what you are, no matter your race it brings everyone together as a community and just makes us all feel welcomed and wanted,' said King. One event that attracted a crowd was the Men's Crawfish Eating Contest. Contestants had to eat 15 pounds of crawfish. J.D. Martin, from Lafayette, Louisiana, placed 2nd, and Jeff Hill from Arkansas placed 1st. More Entertainment news 'This place is incredible. The plaza, the way it's laid out with two stages, the music, the food, it's just the layout of it, everyone is so friendly, it's a great festival,' said Hill. Hill has been coming to the festival for 10 years. In the 10 years, this is his third time coming in first. He revealed his crawfish-winning secret. 'You just got to go. I don't do a twist and pull, I just pull, no twist, you don't have time to twist. No twist, just push them out. Grab the first one and while you're finishing that one, get the second one in your hand. Got to keep it rolling!' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Cajun and Zydeco music, the sounds of southwest Louisiana, are experiencing a remarkable revival
The idea that this country has become one big, bland, conformist culture, the United States of generica? Well, if you're in search of a counterpoint, hang out, as we did, in the marshy interior of southern Louisiana. You need no passport to enter Cajun country, but it's an exotic land like nowhere else, home to a cuisine, a language, a landscape, even a pacing all its own. And then, there's the singular sound. Cajun music — and its cousin from across the way, Zydeco, resists easy description. But it is intoxicatingly catchy, often sung in French, and enjoying a most unlikely renaissance. The sun is out and living is easy on the bayous of Louisiana. The fish are jumping — those are carp — and the cypress trees grow high. On dry land, the music hangs in the humidity. In Eunice, Louisiana, the Savoy family has lived on this patch of land for eight generations. Music is often a family inheritance down here, and you can think of the Savoys as the Von Trapp clan of Cajun country — Acadiana, as it's known. Joel is a Grammy-winning producer and musician, often accompanied by his brother, Wilson—also a Grammy winner. Their father Marc, an accordion-maker by day, is a prominent musician in his own right, as is their mother, Ann, who once recorded with Linda Ronstadt. Jon Wertheim: What defines the Cajun sound? Wilson Savoy: Typically Cajun music has a Cajun accordion, fiddle, sung in Cajun French. They play two-step and waltzes. It's got a very unique rhythm, very syncopated rhythm that you don't hear in a lot of other kinds of music. It's the syncopation that drives the music. Ann Savoy: And it has a hauntingness about it, the music. And, it's just got soul, you know. These sounds are sourced from the unique blend of people that converged on Cajun country over the centuries. The Savoy family 60 Minutes Joel Savoy: The music is obviously born out of this swirl of different cultures. The accordion arrived with some part of the population. Fiddle arrived with different part of the population. The syncopation comes from people that we encountered here, the African Americans, the Creoles, the Spanish, things like that. Joel Savoy: It's also a social music. You know, anytime there's music, there's somebody hanging out, somebody cooking. These things just are part of life. It's always inclusive. Maybe you'll dance a few times. Who knows? As we saw, when the sun sets in Acadiana, the volume turns way up. This music is the soundtrack in dive bars, in night clubs, and the old French salles de danse — dance halls — that stud this landscape. And while it's not topping Billboard charts, the music is experiencing a resurgence as young audiences two-step once again, to those accordions, fiddles and wash-boards. Chubby Carrier: You say Louisiana, the first thing to come outta their mouth is, "How is New Orleans?" I'm like, "I don't know. I don't live in New Orleans." I live in southwest Louisiana. Jon Wertheim: Totally different sound. Chubby Carrier: A totally different sound. Chubby Carrier is a Grammy-winning accordionist from Church Point, Louisiana. He tours with his group, The Bayou Swamp Band. Chubby's Zydeco is a relative of Cajun music, born out of the French-speaking Black Creole community. Chubby Carrier: One time this couple came and goes, "Honey, you gotta come see this. That's a Black gentleman with an accordion in his hand. I wonder if he plays polka, honey." Jon Wertheim: Polka, oh. You had a surprise for 'em. Chubby Carrier: Oh, my goodness, and I seen that, and they came back. And when I seen 'em sittin' there, I said, "Watch this." Chubby Carrier 60 Minutes Chubby Carrier: I started playin' my songs, and she started lookin' over to her husband going, "Wow, this is great." She starts doin' this. (taps) Jon Wertheim: She thought she was comin' for Lawrence Welk, and she got you-- Chubby Carrier: Somethin' like that. Jourdan Thibodeaux is the frontman of the touring band Les Rôdailleurs. Jourdan Thibodeaux: It's just the sounds of our community And I think they're just-- buries into your heart when you-- when you're little. Jon Wertheim: And it's not some hipster ironic thing. Jourdan Thibodeaux: No. Most of the people that be at these kind of dances are as far removed from a hipster as you could possibly imagine. Jourdan is Cajun music's equivalent of a rock star. And through his music, he's become something of a global ambassador for Cajun country and its way of life. Jon Wertheim: You have a saying, you say a lot that's in some of your song lyrics. You wanna tell us what it is? Jourdan Thibodeaux: Tu vis ta culture ou tu tues ta culture, il y a pas de milieu. Means, "You either live your culture or you kill your culture. There's no in between." Jon Wertheim: What do you mean? Jourdan Thibodeaux: You see this-- this vanishing of cultures, of dialects, of-- of everything to just create this one generic human, you know. And it's really sad to me. So I'm gonna get up every day and I'm gonna live my culture today. I think it's every individual's responsibility to maintain who they are as a people. Time was, Louisiana French could be heard on every street corner, both in Cajun and Creole communities. Jourdan learned French from his grandmother. But today, the language is dwindling as the march of Americanization proceeds. Jourdan Thibodeaux: Imagine still being home and saying, "Oh, I miss home." It's-- it's a very hard feeling to convey. Jon Wertheim: I wonder if-- if the language is diminishing, the Cajun music becomes that much more important as this transmitter of culture-- Jourdan Thibodeaux: Oh, without a doubt. Without a doubt. there are countless kids who are learning the language just from the music. Jourdan Thibodeaux 60 Minutes The Cajun story starts in Nova Scotia, where this French-speaking people led a peaceful life, until they didn't. In the middle of the 1700s, the conquering British kicked out the Acadians — shortened to Cajuns. Expelled, they found an improbable home amid the backwaters of French Louisiana. From the craggy north Atlantic to the Delta and bayous of the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest swamp in North America. Jourdan gave us a tour of the land that shaped his Cajun ancestors. They adapted to survive — and then thrive — in this new and sometimes hostile environment. Jon Wertheim: Did I hear right, you learned to swim in this water? Jourdan Thibodeaux: Yeah, oh yeah. My mama, they would take the kids, put us in a life jacket and throw us out of the boat to go swim so they could fish in peace, you know? And she'd make the turn and she'd see an alligator. "Mama, they got an alligator." "You can see it?" "Yes ma'am." "Then it's fine. If you can't see him no more, let me know." The Cajuns didn't come with much, but they did bring their old French melodies. Jourdan Thibodeaux: We sing a lot fishing. When we sit and fish, me and my little girl, my youngest, she likes to sit and sing. So while we're fishing she sings to the fish to-- to get 'em to come. Long as he brought up fish, well, there's an unwritten rule in Cajun country: you can't have the music without the food. Joel Savoy and his family invited us into their kitchen. Marc Savoy: We're cookin' some shrimp étouffée. Étouffée is a French word that means smothered, so we smothered 'em. Jon Wertheim: Where-- where'd you learn? From-- from your folks-- Marc Savoy: Well, from my father, yeah. A lot of people say, "What's the recipe?" I said, "I don't know what the recipe is." Jon Wertheim: New York, you can go into a Michelin star restaurant, and they've got étouffée and gumbo. Marc Savoy: Yeah, but it's not the same. Jon Wertheim: Not the same? Marc Savoy: They don't know what they're doing. Marc Savoy: I propose a toast to my grandmother, who lived in this house. And with her-- lack of gentility, sh-- she would always say Errête de bavarder, assieds-toi et mangeons-nous. "Wuit your babbling, sit down, and let's stuff ourself." Jon Wertheim: Hear, hear. Dinner guest Cheers. Dinner guest: Cheers. The music, the food, the drink, the bonne temps— the good times, these traditions braid all the communities here, but with slight twists. Chubby Carrier's father and grandfather were sharecroppers who played music at night. He showed us the difference between the blues-heavy Zydeco he grew up with and the more country-infused Cajun sound. Chubby Carrier: So I took one of my grandfather's songs (music) Now you see? (music) I did all my Zydeco. (music) That's the Zydeco sound. (music) Now watch your waltz. Take it to the Cajun. (music) You hear that? And I take that same song and I speed it up. It's gonna turn into a Zydeco song. Whoa. All in one, brother. Though entwined musically for decades, the Black Zydeco and the White Cajun scenes couldn't mingle much in the Jim Crow deep South. We first met Chubby at La Poussiere (the dust), a dance hall in the town of Breaux Bridge. He remembers when Black bands—and patrons—weren't allowed in. Jon Wertheim: I wonder if you thought about what your dad and your grandpa would have been thinkin' watchin' you play this venue where they wouldn't have been playin'. Chubby Carrier: I mean, we couldn't even step in that club." Like, Daddy and my grandfather, I want to say this, they fought the fight for us, man. Daddy and granddaddy's in heaven lookin' down goin', "My son is playin' at a White venue that I never thought in a million years that I would ever, ever see." But how good it is. How sweet it is, huh? Today the Cajun and Zydeco crowd overlap like never before. Lil' Nate: So you got the too too pop. Too too pop. Chicha chicha chicha chicha chicha chicha chicha chicha. it feels like a train movin'. And that's why… Lil' Nate Williams 60 Minutes Like virtually all the musicians we interviewed, Lil' Nate Williams has seen a surge in popularity. Last year, his streaming audience jumped by, get this, more than 3,000%. Jon Wertheim: How do you describe your style of zydeco? It's not traditional, is it? Lil' Nate: Very much not traditional, man. It's a fusion. That's-- that's how I think of it. Keyboards. Synthesizers. A lotta R&B. A lotta R&B-- Nate learned to play from his father, also a renowned Zydeco musician. And, he's found, pushing musical boundaries is not always frictionless. Jon Wertheim: What's Dad say about this? Lil' Nate: My dad has always been encouraging. But I could see his face sometimes. You know? We'll sit out in the studio And he'll look at me and-- listenin' to my stuff. "Can we put some more accordion in there? Can-- can we put some more French in there? Can we put this in there?" But at the end of the day, you know, we come to some compromise in understanding that this is-- you, this is me. And the music has struck a chord beyond Louisiana. Jourdan's band tours across the country and internationally. We met Jourdan, Joel and Wilson after they'd played a packed show in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn of all places. The band—like us—ponders what, precisely, is fueling this interest outside Louisiana. Jon Wertheim: They don't speak French, they're not gettin' the lyrics, what are they connecting to-- Joel Savoy: I wonder that --all the time. Jourdan Thibodeaux: I really just believe it's the emotion. If we playin' and I'm happy and we cuttin' up and you can see and feel that good time, you're gonna feel that good time. Same thing, if the song's horribly sad, maybe it makes you feel a little sadness inside of you And you connect on that emotional level. Emotional connection to a sound that — like the accordion itself — can contract and expand, old melodies in a new era. Jourdan Thibodeaux: True music, it's emotive. You're gonna feel it. And that's-- Wilson Savoy: Sure. Jourdan Thibodeaux: Everybody wants to feel somethin' Produced by David M. Levine. Associate producer, Elizabeth Germino. Edited by Warren Lustig.
American Press
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- American Press
Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy celebrates Louisiana Day
Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy's annual Louisiana Day included a Mardi Gras parade on Friday. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press) A little unexpected rain didn't stop Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy (SWLCA) from celebrating the end of the school year with Louisiana Day. A classic field day with a cultural twist, Louisiana Day is an annual tradition that began 13 years ago at SWLCA's first location on Derek Drive as a special celebration 'dedicated to honoring the rich culture and heritage of our state,' said Dean of Students Natalie Johnson. From zydeco bands to line dancing to a sauce cook-off to the historical Louisiana walking museum featuring a timeline and artifacts, students are exposed to the region's culture, providing a fun and educational end-of-year experience. Batrina Clark is an instructional coach at SWLCA who was there at the genesis of Louisiana Day. She and her colleagues conceived the idea in 2012. With the school's first full celebration on the horizon, they decided to up the ante. Instead of a traditional full-field day at the end of the school year, SWLCA would host a full-blown celebration of all things Louisiana culture. The SWLCA staff wanted to create a fun, but informative day for students who do not have much opportunity to explore what the region has to offer. 'We work with a lot of kids who are from those socioeconomic backgrounds where they don't get to experience culture outside of small things in their home,' she said. 'Traditional field days are great, but it is also good to be able to provide kids with opportunities they normally wouldn't have.' SWLCA also has a high Hispanic population of students who get to learn about Louisiana culture, she noted. The day always begins with a Mardi Gras parade. This is usually held in the school's parking lot, but this year, they moved the celebrations to the gym because of the weather. Throughout the day, students participate in hands-on activities like creating 'swamp slime' and face painting, play festival-style games, go on rides, and dance to Zydeco and other cultural tunes. Representatives with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries attend to let students meet baby alligators at the petting zoo. Students also get to sample local dishes during a food-tasting prepared by the parents of each grade level. Because many students started in kindergarten and attended all the way up to eighth grade, Louisiana Day has become a staple that students look forward to throughout the year. So much so that the administration receives requests of what they would like to see next year, Clark said. But it is more than just a fun day for students, it is also a family-oriented community celebration. Parents and families get in on the fun as well, attending the parade and participating in the culinary activities. 'It's really deeply rooted in the culture of the school.' SWLCA went bigger this year, with more festival activities and inflatable games. Why? This is SWLCA's final year. In the fall, the school will merge with its sister school, Lake Charles Charter Academy (LCCA), creating two specialized campuses for one school. The current SWLCA location will house kindergarten through third grade, the current LCCA campus will house fourth through eighth grade. Louisiana Day will continue after the merger, but it might look a little different on a new campus, Johnson said. The day ended with a heartfelt farewell to Duke the Bulldog, who was chosen as the school's mascot and named at the inaugural Louisiana Day. This was a full-circle moment for Clark. With big changes on the horizon, she said they are excited to merge to work together to create an educational community that is even more connected and explorative, all while leaving a legacy in its wake. 'Although we are giving up our identity … We've touched so many lives and I think that all of the students along the way, this community that we've built and the impact that we've made, it's going to forever be remembered,' she mused.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Orleans Jazz Museum celebrates Clifton Chenier, zydeco king
NEW ORLEANS, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Zydeco is a musical style firmly rooted in Louisiana, and Clifton Chenier is known as the undisputed king. The New Orleans Jazz Museum, with support from the Gia Primia Maione Foundation, is honoring him as such during Jazz Fest. Click here for more entertainment news 'The King at 100: Clifton Chenier' debuts Friday, April 25, in the Grandstand at the 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The exhibition presents the visual and musical story of Chenier's life. Rare photographs, archival materials, and personal artifacts, from his outfits and King of Zydeco crown to his accordion. Director of the New Orleans Jazz Museum Greg Lambousy says, 'This exhibit celebrates his life, his music, and his deep Louisiana roots. We're proud to bring his legacy to life during his centennial year.' Chenier was born in 1925 outside Opelousas, Louisiana. As a French-speaking Afro-Creole artist, he combined French folk songs, jump blues, rhythm and blues, and Creole 'la-la.' The result became known as Zydeco. Zydeco is dance music typically featuring accordion, guitar, fiddle, and washboard, but may include saxophone, keyboard, and bass. Chenier recorded his first hit, 'Ay-Tete_Fee,' in 1955. In 1964, he signed with Arhoolie Records, and his career took off. Touring the country with his Red Hot Louisiana Band, he became a popular regular on the Gulf Coast chitlin' circuit. Ass time went on, the band played for broader audiences. From the Fillmore in San Francisco to Carnegie Hall in New York, the King of Zydeco played virtually everywhere, and acclaim came with it. In 1983, he won a GRAMMY, and in 1984, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Heritage Fellow. In his life and posthumously, he won many other awards from groups worldwide. The exhibit draws from collections by Philip Gould, the Chris Strachwitz Collection at the Arhoolie Foundation, The Historic New Orleans Collection, and the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
