Florida Cajun Zydeco Update! No. 64 (May 2018)

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

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MAY 2018

D E N N I S ST R O U G H MAT T

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Issue No.

MAY 2018

4 Cajun Zydeco Dances in St. Pete May 1 & 15 @ Caddy’s on Central

6 History of Cajun Music with Dr. Barry Jean Ancelet

Friday, May 11, 7 p.m. at Heritage Museum, 100 Beekman Lane, Tarpon Springs, FL. Tickets $10. http://tarponarts.org/

8 Wayne Toups & The ZydeCajun Band

May 12, 7 p.m. at Tarpon Performing Arts Center Also: May 13, Broussard’s Bayou Grill, 690 E. Heinberg St., Pensacola, FL

10 Porchdogs at Saturday Morning Market

May 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the parking lot at Lang Field, First Street @ First Ave. S., St. Petersburg, 33701.

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

FEATURE STORY 12 French Creole-style music from some other place:

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp

For Stroughmatt, having an audience think that the band consists of native Louisianans goes with the territory.

CAJUN ZYDECO COMMUNITY 20 Huck delves into the evolving zydeco culture

Writer for Huck magazine goes on a trail ride.

24 JoJo Reed honors traditional zydeco

A review from 2012.

28 Festival-O-Rama

Some listings from the FloridaCajunZydeco.com/festivals page.

34 Ace’s Live Update

Popular Bradenton venue is forced to relocate.

34 Atlanta events

Atlanta presents Jeffery Broussard in May.

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com First and Third Tuesday in St. Pete, FL

at Caddy’s on Central 217 Central Ave., 33701 Tuesday, May 1 — Salute to Gator By The Bay Artists

Tuesday, May 15 — More Great Dance Music!

6 P. M . TO 9:30 P.M. Twice monthly Cajun and zydeco dance at Caddy’s on Central in downtown St. Pete. Good mix of danceable music by Cajun and zydeco artists singing about death, divorce, drinking and dancing. No cover charge.

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

Go to www.FloridaCajunZydeco.com for more information.

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Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

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History of Cajun Music

Friday, May 11, 7 p.m. — Dr. Barry Jean Ancelet @ Heritage Museum (Tarpon Springs) 100 Beekman Lane, Tarpon Springs, FL. Tickets $10.

Through an exciting grant funding opportunity by South Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Tarpon Arts is bringing Dr. Ancelet to Tarpon Springs for an educational lecture and discussion on the history of Cajun and Zydeco music in conjunction with the Wayne Toups and the Zydecajun Band concert. Dr. Ancelet will lead discussions and dance instruction through this fascinating residency.

Barry Jean Ancelet is a Cajun folklorist and expert in Cajun music and Cajun French. He has written several books, and under the pseudonym Jean Arceneaux he has written Cajun French poetry and lyrics to Cajun French songs. He graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) with a BA in French in 1974. He received an MA in Folklore from Indiana University in 1977, and a doctorate in Études Créoles (anthropology and linguistics) from the Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille I) in 1984. He has been on the faculty at UL Lafayette since 1977, first as Director of the Center for Acadian and Creole Folklore, and later as a Professor of Francophone Studies and Folklore in the Department of Modern Languages, which he currently chairs.

Venue website: http://tarponarts.org/about-tarpon-springs/us/.

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Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

Barry Jean Ancelet accompanied by Sam Broussard, guitarist with Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys. The two recorded a bluesy Cajun album titled Broken Promised Land in 2016.

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Wayne Toups & ZydeCajun Saturday, May 12, 7 p.m. at Tarpon Performing Arts Center 324 East Pine Street, Tarpon Springs, Florida 34689 Website: TarponArts.org. Tickets are $35.

Sunday, May 13, Broussard’s Bayou Grill, 690 E. Heinberg Street, Pensacola, FL You can add another nickname to the music man they call “Le Boss.”

High-energy showman Wayne Toups has long been dubbed “The Cajun Springsteen,” but now you can add the title “Grammy winner” to his name. On Feb. 10, 2013, Wayne was honored with his first Grammy Award. His CD The Band Courtbouillon with Steve Riley and Wilson Savoy was announced as Best Regional Roots Music Album at the prestigious ceremony.

“My feet still haven’t touched the ground,” said Toups. “It’s something I’ll never forget. We walked the red carpet and everything. It was all really pretty amazing. It was my first nomination and my first win,” adds the Louisiana music maker with a grin. “I’m batting 1,000.”

Wayne Toups has been granted numerous awards and honors throughout his career including 2010 Festivals Acadiens et Créoles dedicated in his name, Offbeat Magazine Album of the Year recipient.

Member of The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Gulf Coast Hall of Fame, and Cajun French Music Hall of Fame, and 55th Annual Grammy Award winner.

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Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

Wayne Toups

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Porchdogs in St. Pete Saturday, May 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Saturday Morning Market, Al Lang Stadium parking lot, 1st Street S. @ First Ave. S., St. Pete 33701 The Porchdogs formed in order to perform the kind of music they loved but rarely heard in Central Florida — the accordion driven music of Louisiana Cajun/Zydeco.

The Porchdogs band is well-known throughout the state, regularly performing at Orlando's theme parks, at festivals and fairs, at nightclubs, and fairly regularly at St. Pete’s Saturday Morning Market.

The Porchdogs is the only group (national, Louisiana, or Florida) to have performed all 15 years of the Ft. Lauderdale Cajun Zydeco Crawfish Festival — now defunct, but in its time the largest event of its type in the country. They have appeared at House of Blues, Skippers Smokehouse, and Johnny Longboats, as well as numerous clubs and dance halls throughout the country.

The mission of the Saturday Morning Market is to be the ‘heart’ of St. Petersburg — the place, more than anywhere else, that people feel a strong sense of joyful connectedness and creative community.

The Porchdogs will be there May 12 to do just that.

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

Porchdogs

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Creole French-style music from some other place.

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp

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Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com ingers and bow flying, Dennis Stroughmatt takes listeners on a musical odyssey not so different from his own musical journeys into upper Louisiana Creole culture. Taught to play fiddle by Creole fiddlers Roy Boyer and Charlie Pashia in the tradition of their fathers, Stroughmatt gradually became an adopted son of the Midwest French Creoles living along the Mississippi River near St Louis.

Some have called Creole Stomp a “blues infused Creolezydeco dance machine” and others have called the band “the Grateful Dead of creole music.” Creole Stomp is simply a powerhouse Louisiana-style band that serves up tradition with sides of entertaining swamp-pop, blues and honky-tonk. Having performed across the United States from Providence to Las Vegas, Creole Stomp makes it’s home in southern Illinois. But most fans still believe the band is from Louisiana!

A vibrant blend of Celtic, Canadian and old time sounds, this music bridges the gap between contemporary Canadian and Louisiana Cajun styles. Preserved by families in the Ozark foothills, the music remains largely intact and true to the traditions that have been passed down for over three centuries.

A medley of music, language, stories, and culture secreted away in the Missouri Ozarks now has a voice in the tapestry of this world. With the blessing of the Creole people of the Midwest, Dennis Stroughmatt

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

et Creole Stomp are its passionate ambassadors, expanding interest and excitement in a region that has been, in may ways, ignored by the history books. What many have considered to be long lost is alive and kicking.

Stroughmatt lays down the kind of thick and wistful French-American folk music that might be found in Lafayette, Louisiana. For Stroughmatt, having an audience think that the band consists of native Louisianans goes with the territory. “I always get a kick out of that," Stroughtmatt says. "We were playing

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Carbondale Nightlife

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com a festival last weekend and there were some people from Louisiana and they wanted to know what part I was from.”

Described by Stroughtmatt as sort of a French version of American bluegrass, Creole Stomp’s music is often sung in Creole French — which leads some listeners to think of the band as the real deal.

“The French language always seems to be that barrier of out-of-Louisiana bands,” Stroughmatt says. “Honing the skill of being a Cajun and zydeco band, language seems to usually be a barrier, but for us it’s not, and for that reason we’ve been very well accepted at a lot of venues and festivals around the country that usually only allow Louisiana-based bands to play.”

When Nightlife caught up with Stroughmatt, he was about to perform at the fifth annual Bayou ’n’ Boogie Fest in Providence, Rhode Island, where Creole Stomp was on the bill along with stars like Sonny Landreth and Curley Taylor. A week prior, the band played a little closer to home at Mount Vernon’s Cajun Fest.

“When you're the only band it can actually more liberating, because you can play many different things in the genre,” Stroughmatt

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Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

explains. “Whereas when you play a big festival, there’s a lot of different people doing a whole variety. You’re constantly looking for that one place that makes you different than the other bands, and when you’re playing a concert by yourself you get to do a whole lot of different things. You’re really not competing with other bands, and that’s a lot of fun. We’re doing a mix of Creole, Cajun, swing, and zydeco.”

Stroughmatt is a bit of an anomaly in the music world. Not many performers include their education in their promotional biographies, but for Stroughtmatt music and his musical education are one and the same. A Southern Illinois native, Stroughtmatt was influenced by the small French Creole town of Vincennes, Indiana, which led him to a French Creole town southeast of St. Louis called Old Mines, Missouri.

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com Along the way, Stroughmatt spent twenty years studying French and the fiddle. He earned his bachelor’s degree in historic preservation in 1993 from Southeast Missouri State University, his master’s degree in history at SIU in 1998, and was certified in French language and culture at the University of Quebec in 1999. Currently doing a lot of programs at schools and universities around the country, Creole Stomp is an amalgam of all of Stroughtmatt’s interests.

“A lot of our work is about teaching French and Cajun culture, but a lot of it is also Missouri and Illinois-French Creole culture, too,” Stroughmatt says. “In that sense we’re not just a band that shows up to play. We really want to give people that experience and bring people to the music, and one of the best ways to do that is to actually tell people what’s going on in the songs. When we do songs in French, we like to be able to tell the audience what’s going on.”

Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp has seven albums available on iTunes, and one album, Las Tracas de Morris, as part of a duo with Morris Ardoin. In 2016 he released One More Time — A Tribute to Ray Price. His latest release in 2017 is Wrong Side of the World.

Another album not shown on iTunes, Things I Might Have Been, is a mostly English celebration of Cajun swing and a musical tribute to both western swing and the great western-swing fiddle player, Wade Ray, with whom Stroughtmatt developed a friendship when Stroughmatt was an SIU grad student. The album was recorded in four different

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

Morris Ardoin with Dennis Stroughmatt recorded together. studios in four different states. “It’s funny, because you can’t tell it was done in four different studios,” Stroughmatt says. “That has a lot to do with Dick McVey. He’s worked for years in Nashville, and he’s a real pro. He did a real good job of listening to the tracks and pulling them all together. You listen to it and you’ll think it was all done in the same room.”

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp will be performing at Strawberry Park Cajun Zydeco Festival in Preston, CT this summer.

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CAJUN ZYDECO COMMUNITY Huck is a bi-monthly magazine, website and video platform. It has been recognized for its style of exploring subcultures as “entry points for articles about music, politics and places all over the world.”— Wikipedia

Huck delves into the evolving zydeco culture Huck describes itself as “a global magazine exploring the many facets of radical culture, be it surf, skate, snow, music, art, activism, pop culture, the environment and the world beyond.” Here is an article from one issue discussing changes in the zydeco music, and how we define the genre.

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

Huck magazine excerpt: Keith Frank, arguably Louisiana’s most successful zydeco musician, is playing on a stage in the barn.

Dressed in a baseball cap and baggy jeans, the 40-something switches between four different accordions and is accompanied by his Soileau Zydeco Band, who blend in elements of funk and reggae — a mix that has dismayed purists but is met by wide approval from his younger audience.

Frank makes regular appearances on the trail ride circuit. His fusion of zydeco with a more urban, contemporary sound is exactly what the younger trail riders are clamouring for.

If you want to make it as a zydeco musician in Louisiana you need to give the trail riders what they want to hear.

Broadcaster and journalist Herman Fuselier has witnessed the divide. Fuselier, the hardest working man in zydeco without an accordion, presents Zydeco Stomp, a show on Lafayette-based radio station KRVS. “There is always gonna be conflict,” he says. “Palm for palm the best accordion player is Jeffery Broussard and he’s from one of the first families of zydeco. As good as he is, he has to take his art and skills on the road as he is not appreciated as well as he should be.”

Cedric Watson is another musician caught between the old world

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com and the new. Despite a Grammy award, he’s never been booked to play a trail ride on his own doorstep.

“There are only a handful that can do it full-time in Louisiana,” Fuselier adds.

“Many musicians have to leave Louisiana to play; they bring people back to Louisiana but yet are not accepted in Louisiana.”

Keith Frank, however, never has to gig outside of Louisiana. Frank comes from Herman Fuselier a long line of celebrated traditional Creole musicians, but he’s chosen to change with the times to keep things fresh.

“Frank registers what the audience likes, and gets his music to fit their tastes,” says Fuselier.

Read the full story at: http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/zydecocowboys-hip-hop-country-dance-louisiana/

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

The cross-genre zydeco artist Keith Frank has a strong appeal to younger audiences in Louisiana.

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JoJo Reed makes his mark

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

This is a review on JoJo Reed’s 2012 release, Still The Same Old Me. The author is unknown.

J

oJo Reed is a zydeco musician from Eunice whose popularity has moved far beyond his home in Southwest Louisiana. Reed has been playing and writing music since his high school years at St. Edmund’s in Eunice where he graduated in 1989. The winter 2000 issue of The Jays' Quarterly, the school’s alumni newsletter, featured a story on JoJo describing his tour up the East Coast and trips to other festivals around the country. He has become so popular in California that he has a booking agent just for that state.

In the fall of 2012, JoJo headed back to California, and he was also busy promoting his new self-produced album, Still the Same Old Me. Most of the songs on the CD were written by JoJo, but he also does covers of “Jolie Blonde,” “Motor Dude,” “Uncle Bud,” and “Hungry Man Love.”

On the CD, he captures the sounds of zydeco from the days when Boozoo Chavis and Beau Jocque were at their peaks, attracting both young and old to the dance halls. JoJo says that when he plays a gig, he always tries to find songs that the audience likes. Still the Same Ole Me is aimed at long-time zydeco fans who want to hear music that follows a beat that they have enjoyed dancing to over the years. But everyone is going to enjoy this band, which JoJo considers perhaps the best group of musicians he has worked with. Big Chris Ardoin is on bass; Troy Prudhomme on

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com rhythm guitar; Bobby “BB” Broussard on lead guitar; Kyndrell Frank on rubboard and background vocals; and Big Jackie Frank on drums.

His album, Back on the Scene, released by Louisiana Hot Records in September 2000, offers a funky sound developed in collaboration with Keith Frank, who arranged, produced, engineered, and mixed the recording at his Soul Wood Studios.

The majority of the songs were also written in collaboration with Frank. The opening song, “Back on the Scene with a Brand New Thing,” establishes the smooth, funky rhythm that runs through most of the songs. In “Still Got It Going On,” JoJo alludes to the serious injuries he suffered in a traffic accident in 1998, telling everyone, “But y’all know that don’t stop JoJo.” Keith Frank plays guitar and joins JoJo with vocals on “Is It Really Ever Over,” a slow, mellow number. JoJo’s “A Hard Head Makes a Soft Behind” is a good example of the playful humor that has

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update! always been part of zydeco’s appeal.

The CD includes George Lee on guitar, Jennifer Frank on bass, Brad Frank on drums, and James Ned and Kendrell Frank on rubboards.

Back on the Scene is dedicated to Alphonse Paul Ardoin, grandson of Bois Sec Ardoin and bass player with JoJo Reed until his death in June 1999 at the age of 21.

JoJo’s other albums, which feature many songs he wrote himself, include Make ’em Jump!, Funky Zydeco, and Not Your Baby’s Daddy, which came out in 1997 on Zydeco Hound Records, released by Acadiana Sounds Studio in Eunice.

In a couple of his songs, JoJo pays tribute to the late Boozoo Chavis and to the late John Delafose. Through his many original songs, JoJo Reed is making his own mark in zydeco. But he also knows the roots of zydeco, and his music is an extension of that tradition.

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May 2018 May 3-6, 2018 — Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival (North Carolina) Bands include Preston Frank with Donna The Buffalo, Steve Earle and The Dukes, Donna The Buffalo, Dr. Bacon, AJ Ghent, Big Mean Sound Machine, The Shoaldiggers, Swift Creek Swing Dance. 4 days, 4 stages & over 50 bands in beautiful, green Chatham County, North Carolina. http://shakorihillsgrassroots.org/

May 4-6, 2018 — Pensacola Crawfish Festival (Pensacola, FL) At time of publication (and yes, it’s getting close!), bands and entertainment have not been posted. Check website for lineup closer to the event dates. http://www.fiestaoffiveflags.org/pensacola-crawfish-festival

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

May 2-5, 2018 — Suwannee River Jam (Live Oak, FL) Features country artists Alan Jackson, Josh Turner, Pam Tillis, Kentucky Headhunters. At The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, Live Oak, FL. Website: http://suwanneeriverjam.com/

May 4-6, 2018 — Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival (Breaux Bridge, LA) Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band, Geno Delafose & French Rockin Boogie, Horace Trahan and the Ossun Express, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, High Performance, Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners, Forest Huval, Jambalaya, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Travis Matte and the Kingpins, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Rusty Metoyer and Zydeco Krush, Huval Family Band, Damon Troy & Friends, Chubby Carrier Cajun Stompers, Hunter Courville, Louisiana Red, Kegan Navarre & Louisiana Traditions, Corey Ledet, Richard La Bouef, and Les Ferrailles.

The Crawfish Festival has also become one of the largest gatherings of world famous Cajun musicians. All weekend long you can hear the sound of authentic Cajun, Zydeco and Swamp Pop music rising from the festival. Whether your musical taste is Cajun or Creole, you can witness over 30 bands perform over the three day event if you think you have the stamina. It’s a perfect opportunity to see our musical tradition passed from generation to generation. Watch the Cajun dance contests, and if you’re brave, join in. There’s no better way to learn. There are even Cajun music workshops held in the heritage tent. Website: http://bbcrawfest.com/

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com May 10-13, 2018 — Gator By The Bay Festival (San Diego) Pine Leaf Boys, The Revelers, Keith Frank, Dexter Ardoin, and Horace Trahan. Blues bands will include Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers, Earl Thomas, Carolyn Wonderland. The total number of artists at the event will be over 60. The event draws 20,000 each year, and offers seven music stages from which to choose, with two main stages offering 3,000 sq. ft. tented dance floors at each.

The event is situated on mile-long Spanish Landing Park on San Diego Bay directly across the street from San Diego Lindbergh International Airport. The weather in San Diego is particularly nice in May with temps at the bay around 75 degrees, but bring a jacket because when the sun goes down it gets a bit chilly. A few folks from Florida (including yours truly) are attending this year. Be sure to also get your ticket for the Saturday night dance at the hotel. Website: www.gatorbythebay.com.

The same weekend: SwingDiego. Warmup dances prior to Gator & SwingDiego — Monday: Int. hustle lesson with Laureen Baldovi Mason @ Starlight, or Sue Palmer @ Humphrey’s Back Stage; Tuesday: WCS @ Tango Del Rey, or Big Time Operator @ Tio Leo’s; Wednesday: Bayou Brothers @ Humphrey’s Back Stage, or WCS @ Cheers; Thursday: WCS workshop and social dance @ SwingDiego, or Sonny Landreth @ Gator By The Bay.

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

May 18-20, 2018 — “A Bridge Toward Louisiana” Cajun Zydeco Festival (Yvelines, France) Features Horace Trahan and the Ossun Express in addition to 15 other European Cajun and zydeco bands. Website (English): http://www.topela.eu/pages/en/the-cajun-festival.php?lang=EN

Jeffery Broussard, May 27

Charles Lloyd, May 25

May 24-27, 2018 — Jacksonville Jazz Fest (Jacksonville, FL) Bands include Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys, Trombone Shorty, Sheila E, Chris Thomas Band, Grace Kelly, The 4 Korners, and the Charles Lloyd New Quartet. Experience all Downtown Jacksonville has to offer as it comes alive with the sounds of jazz greats and modern favorites at the 2018 Jacksonville Jazz Festival on Memorial Day weekend. Three stages of live jazz, local food, drinks, shopping and entertainment.

“If ever there was an eternal explorer, it’s Charles Lloyd. This inquisitive soul has made a career out of surveying new frontiers, both within himself and beyond the borders of his own being... There’s something that’s

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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com just plain elusive in Lloyd’s art, exemplified in that miraculous marriage between the act of departure and the sound of return.” All About Jazz “With his signature jeans and jean jacket, cowboy hat and toothpick in his mouth, singer and accordion player Jeffery Broussard continues to spread the gospel of the ‘zydeco nouveau’ sound he pioneered with his Opelousas band, Zydeco Force. Leading his Creole Cowboys on traditional button accordion, piano-key accordion and fiddle, Broussard meshes R&B with contemporary zydeco dance music.” Jazz Fest Website: http://jacksonvillejazzfest.com/

May 25-27, 2018 — Florida Folk Festival (White Springs, FL) A three-day celebration of the music, dance, stories, crafts and food that make Florida unique. At the Florida Folk Festival you can sit with the masters who keep cultural traditions alive. In jam sessions, demonstrations and workshops, try your own hand at playing mandolin, telling stories, or making a pine needle basket. As the sun sets, settle in for concerts by moonlight or dance the night away at the Heritage Stage.

At the end of the day you'll have discovered new corners of the state from the people who call Florida home.

On the Suwannee River at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, home of the Florida Folk Festival for 66 years. Visit the Folk Festival website often as we will continuously update information as it becomes available. The Festival is presented under the auspices of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Recreation and Parks.

Schedule to be posted at: floridastateparks.org/folkfest/performanceschedule

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update!

May 25-27, 2018 — “Zydeco Zity” International Cajun Zydeco Festival (Netherlands) Bands include Zydeco Annie & Swamp Cats, Elvis Fontenot and the Sugar Bees, Flatville Aces, Po’ Boys, Blue Bayou, Flyin’ Saucers Gumbo Special, River Zydeco Band, ZydeGoNutz. Festival location: Corner Kloosterweg and Wilhelminalaan, next to the soccer fields, Raamsdonksveer. Website: http://www.zydecozity.nl/en

May 26-27, 2018 — Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival The Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival is in its 28th year. Bands include Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys, La Recolte, Lisa Haley and the Zydekats, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Dennis G and Zydeco Trail Riderz, Bo Dollis, Jr. and the Wild Magnolias, Eddie Money, Dave Mason, Devon Allman Project with Duane Betts, The Chambers Brothers, Lightnin’ Willie, 3 Sista Blues, Alex Nester, Arthur Adams Band. Website: simicajun.org

May 31 through June 3, 2018 — Orange Blossom Country Dance Festival (Orlando, FL) Country, swing, hustle, and cabaret division competitions as well as dedicated ballrooms for just social dancing throughout the event.

Event will be held at Orlando Airport Marriott.

Website: http://www.orangeblossomdance.net

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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Visit FloridaCajunZydeco.com Venue Moving (Temporarily Closed) Ace’s Live Music (Bradenton) “Ace's Live has temporarily closed! It has permanently closed ‘The Barn’ at it’s current location. The building and land has been sold to another company and it will no longer be used as a music venue, restaurant or bar. The Ace’s Live team has been in negotiations to relocate the bar, restaurant and music venue to a new location in the Bradenton area. We had hoped that the relocation deal would have been completed by the time of the land sale. However, more time is needed. Upon re-opening, Ace’s Live will continue to be the leader in live music with a full liquor bar and kitchen, hosting the very best in national bands on a regular basis, along with great local talent. Please check back to this website and our Facebook page for further details on our future location. Thank you again to all of you for your tremendous support over the past 15 years, and we’ll see you soon!” —aceslivemusic.com

Outside Florida Atlanta Cajun Zydeco Association Dance Sat., May 19, 2018 — Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys features the accordion mastery and soulful vocals of front man Jeffery Broussard, from the legendary band, Zydeco Force. The band delivers great, pack-the-floor renditions of Creole classics as well as their own brand of contemporary Zydeco.

Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys are taking the next generation’s perspective of this music and presenting it with contemporary flair and expertise. Dorothy Benson Center, 6500 Vernon Woods Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30328. Phone: 404-613-4900. Check website for dance events in Atlanta area at http://aczadance.org/