Zydeco In The Air Over Labor Day Weekend
Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco
Festival Anchors 2014 Labor Day Weekend
August 27, 2014
Dominick Cross
The Advertiser
With our hot August nights coming to a close and Labor Day set to hopefully bring in moderate September weather come Monday, that can mean only one thing: zydeco is in the air — and big time at that — it’s all weekend long.
The genre’s granddaddy event, the Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival in Plaisance, is in its 32nd year and has a lineup that’ll keep you raising the dust under both the sun and stars.
“We’re the keepers of the culture and the tellers of the story,” said Lena Charles, festival director. “The story is about Creole culture. People that are still closely connected to the land. And how we celebrate that is through the music.”
Grammy winner Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band open the festival at 12:30 p.m. to be followed by Step Rideau and the Zydeco Outlaws, Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin’ Cajuns, Andre Thierry, Lil Nate and the Zydeco Big Timers, Chris Ardoin and NuStep, and Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha Chas.
And dispersed here and there in the lineup this year will be Southern soul special guests with Miss Lysa, who’s known for her song, “Sweet Nuki Luvin,” Ronnie “RnB” Bell, known for “Cotton Candy,” and Poogie Bear and his song “Side Piece.”
“A lot of people know their records,” said Charles. “The records are hot right now.”
The Zydeco Festival gets going at 9 p.m. Friday with the kick-off dance at Slim’s Y-Ki Ki in Opelousas, featuring Step Rideau and the Zydeco Outlaws and Corey “Lil’ Pop” Ledet.
And as you recover from that, keep in mind there’s the Zydeco Breakfast Saturday morning at the St. Landry Parish Courthouse Square at 8:30 a.m. with music by Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble in the courtyard.
A morning gig may be counter-intuitive to zydeco musicians and dancers, but Taylor has a plan.
“You got to start off slow. To me, there’s no process. Once you get moving and get over there and you start to see the people there and you know people are coming to have a good time,” Taylor said, then copping the role of the fans: “Hey! We didn’t come over here to watch you wake up, we came here to have a good time.”
“And so we just got to wake up and kick it into gear and make it happen,” Taylor continued. “And when the first person hits the dance floor, that’s kind of what sets it. Then we have something to feel and that becomes our breakfast.
“When the next couple comes on, then, you know, oh yeah, it’s getting good,” he said. “And the next thing you know, we just send it.”
Charles said the Zydeco Breakfast, sponsored by the City of Opelousas, is a festival motivator.
“It’s a short ‘stirring up,’ so to speak,” said Charles. “They can go home, they rest a little while and then they come to the festival grounds.”
Of course along with the music, there will be plenty of Creole food, including three types of red beans and rice, goat, as well and fried chicken, burgers and such.
Speaking of food, the Black Pot cook-off, in its second year has a $20 entry fee and the winner gets $100 and “bragging rights for a year,” said Charles, adding, “everybody that cooks in a black pot thinks that their dish is the best.”
Charles said the cooks must cook on the grounds by 8 a.m. and be ready for the judges at 12:30 p.m. There will be trophies awarded to second and third places. After the contest, samples will be available for the public.
But exactly what that’ll be cooking won’t be known until they’re stirring the pots.
“They’re not telling. They’re not telling,” Charles laughed. “They’re not telling because they don’t want the other person knowing … it don’t work like that.”
The Zydeco Mini-Ride, aka “the party wagon,” has been going on for three years. Charles said it takes festival goers on tour around the Plaisance area and this year it will travel the festival grounds.
“We bring them on tour through the countryside,” said Charles. “There’s no extra charge. When they fill up, they go out and go around the countryside and bring them back.
“This year, we have an extra treat: We have a trail,” she said. “So the party wagon is going to bring them on the trail. They’re going to trail Zydeco Park on the Zydeco Park trail and through the community and come back.”
Creole Renaissance Festival
The third annual Creole Renaissance Festival is back, Saturday, at the Yambilee Building, 1939 W. Landry, in Opelousas.
The all day, family-friendly celebration of Creole culture gets going at noon with family, food, and, of course zydeco.
The line up includes Keith Frank and the Solieau Zydeco Band, Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie, Brian Jack, J. Paul, Dexter Ardoin, Brandon Ledet, Doghill Stompers, JoJo Reed and Same Ol’ 2 Step.
The event also includes a $1,000 Dance Contest, Creole Man of the Year Award and Inspirational Creole Family Award. Tickets are $15/$5 kids.
Go to creolerenaissance.com for more information.
Boozoo Festival
Boozoo Chavis Labor Day Festival looks at 30 years come Labor Day at the Lake Charles Civic Center, third floor Buccaneer Room.
A DJ gets the music going at 10 a.m. amid Creole food, music and culture; and the line-up has Keith Frank, Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie, The Dog Hill Stompers, Chris Ardoin, Jamie Bergeron and Step Rideau.
Call 337-436-9588 for more information.
More Labor Day Weekend zydeco
Friday
Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Cowboys Night Club, 5329 Common St., Lake Charles. 10 p.m.
Saturday
Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, Cafe des Amis, 140 E Bridge St., Breaux Bridge. 8:30 a.m.
Horace Trahan & the Ossun Express, Lakeview Park, 1717 Veterans Highway, Eunice. 8 p.m. 337-457-2881. (It’s also Lakeview’s fifth birthday)
Sunday
Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Whiskey River Landing, 1365 Henderson Levee Road, Henderson. 4 p.m.
Lil’ Nate and Chris Ardoin at Slim’s Y Ki Ki, 182 N. Main St., Opelousas for the “Official Pineywoods Afterparty” 9:30 p.m.
Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Road Runners, Red Dogs Bar, 444 Trumps Road, Egan. 9 p.m.
Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco
Festival Anchors 2014 Labor Day Weekend
August 27, 2014
Dominick Cross
The Advertiser
 |
Dancers fill the floor at the 2009 Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival in Plaisance. (Photo: David Simpson )
|
The genre’s granddaddy event, the Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival in Plaisance, is in its 32nd year and has a lineup that’ll keep you raising the dust under both the sun and stars.
“We’re the keepers of the culture and the tellers of the story,” said Lena Charles, festival director. “The story is about Creole culture. People that are still closely connected to the land. And how we celebrate that is through the music.”
Grammy winner Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band open the festival at 12:30 p.m. to be followed by Step Rideau and the Zydeco Outlaws, Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin’ Cajuns, Andre Thierry, Lil Nate and the Zydeco Big Timers, Chris Ardoin and NuStep, and Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha Chas.
And dispersed here and there in the lineup this year will be Southern soul special guests with Miss Lysa, who’s known for her song, “Sweet Nuki Luvin,” Ronnie “RnB” Bell, known for “Cotton Candy,” and Poogie Bear and his song “Side Piece.”
“A lot of people know their records,” said Charles. “The records are hot right now.”
The Zydeco Festival gets going at 9 p.m. Friday with the kick-off dance at Slim’s Y-Ki Ki in Opelousas, featuring Step Rideau and the Zydeco Outlaws and Corey “Lil’ Pop” Ledet.
And as you recover from that, keep in mind there’s the Zydeco Breakfast Saturday morning at the St. Landry Parish Courthouse Square at 8:30 a.m. with music by Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble in the courtyard.
A morning gig may be counter-intuitive to zydeco musicians and dancers, but Taylor has a plan.
“You got to start off slow. To me, there’s no process. Once you get moving and get over there and you start to see the people there and you know people are coming to have a good time,” Taylor said, then copping the role of the fans: “Hey! We didn’t come over here to watch you wake up, we came here to have a good time.”
“And so we just got to wake up and kick it into gear and make it happen,” Taylor continued. “And when the first person hits the dance floor, that’s kind of what sets it. Then we have something to feel and that becomes our breakfast.
“When the next couple comes on, then, you know, oh yeah, it’s getting good,” he said. “And the next thing you know, we just send it.”
Charles said the Zydeco Breakfast, sponsored by the City of Opelousas, is a festival motivator.
“It’s a short ‘stirring up,’ so to speak,” said Charles. “They can go home, they rest a little while and then they come to the festival grounds.”
Of course along with the music, there will be plenty of Creole food, including three types of red beans and rice, goat, as well and fried chicken, burgers and such.
Speaking of food, the Black Pot cook-off, in its second year has a $20 entry fee and the winner gets $100 and “bragging rights for a year,” said Charles, adding, “everybody that cooks in a black pot thinks that their dish is the best.”
Charles said the cooks must cook on the grounds by 8 a.m. and be ready for the judges at 12:30 p.m. There will be trophies awarded to second and third places. After the contest, samples will be available for the public.
But exactly what that’ll be cooking won’t be known until they’re stirring the pots.
“They’re not telling. They’re not telling,” Charles laughed. “They’re not telling because they don’t want the other person knowing … it don’t work like that.”
The Zydeco Mini-Ride, aka “the party wagon,” has been going on for three years. Charles said it takes festival goers on tour around the Plaisance area and this year it will travel the festival grounds.
“We bring them on tour through the countryside,” said Charles. “There’s no extra charge. When they fill up, they go out and go around the countryside and bring them back.
“This year, we have an extra treat: We have a trail,” she said. “So the party wagon is going to bring them on the trail. They’re going to trail Zydeco Park on the Zydeco Park trail and through the community and come back.”
Creole Renaissance Festival
The third annual Creole Renaissance Festival is back, Saturday, at the Yambilee Building, 1939 W. Landry, in Opelousas.
The all day, family-friendly celebration of Creole culture gets going at noon with family, food, and, of course zydeco.
The line up includes Keith Frank and the Solieau Zydeco Band, Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie, Brian Jack, J. Paul, Dexter Ardoin, Brandon Ledet, Doghill Stompers, JoJo Reed and Same Ol’ 2 Step.
The event also includes a $1,000 Dance Contest, Creole Man of the Year Award and Inspirational Creole Family Award. Tickets are $15/$5 kids.
Go to creolerenaissance.com for more information.
Boozoo Festival
Boozoo Chavis Labor Day Festival looks at 30 years come Labor Day at the Lake Charles Civic Center, third floor Buccaneer Room.
A DJ gets the music going at 10 a.m. amid Creole food, music and culture; and the line-up has Keith Frank, Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie, The Dog Hill Stompers, Chris Ardoin, Jamie Bergeron and Step Rideau.
Call 337-436-9588 for more information.
More Labor Day Weekend zydeco
Friday
Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Cowboys Night Club, 5329 Common St., Lake Charles. 10 p.m.
Saturday
Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, Cafe des Amis, 140 E Bridge St., Breaux Bridge. 8:30 a.m.
Horace Trahan & the Ossun Express, Lakeview Park, 1717 Veterans Highway, Eunice. 8 p.m. 337-457-2881. (It’s also Lakeview’s fifth birthday)
Sunday
Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Whiskey River Landing, 1365 Henderson Levee Road, Henderson. 4 p.m.
Lil’ Nate and Chris Ardoin at Slim’s Y Ki Ki, 182 N. Main St., Opelousas for the “Official Pineywoods Afterparty” 9:30 p.m.
Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Road Runners, Red Dogs Bar, 444 Trumps Road, Egan. 9 p.m.
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