Cajun-Zydeco Festival set for Armstrong Park this weekend

1st June 2015   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

Music, like life, goes through transformations. As musical genius Quincy Jones wrote, “Everything must change, nothing stays the same.” Thankfully some folks hold on to traditions while others, thankfully, reach for new horizons.

This year’s Cajun-Zydeco Festival, held in Armstrong Park on Saturday June 6 and Sunday, June 7 offers the opportunity to hear both classic and modern interpretations of the Cajun and zydeco music. These genres thrived and were shared from generation to generation in Southwest Louisiana before breaking out into the world.

Two zydeco innovators, who come from different generations, will play at the festival and stand as an example of the music’s evolution and possibilities.

Accordionist/vocalist/composer Terrance Simien, 49, (Sunday, 5:45 p.m.) is a veteran on the scene having begun performing when he was just a teenager. The two-time, Grammy-winning artist (he brings one of the shining trophys everywhere he goes) has long been praised as well as put down for interjecting other styles of music into zydeco.

Simien has observed that his mixing of genres no longer comes as much of a shock as it used to. “Serious zydeco dancers, they’re starting to come around,” he offers. “They’re realizing that there’s a lot you can dance to – there’s more than just the two-step. If you’re a good dancer, you can dance to it all.”

Noted for his fine voice and lively onstage presence, Simien is particularly partial to bringing in some reggae beats and New Or­leans rhythm and blues to the mix.

“Reggae is definitely one of those socially conscious styles of music – especially Bob Marley,” he offers. “It was just all about peace and love. That’s the message I always want to try to have in my music.”

The Neville Brothers were also a big inspiration to Simien’s approach to creating his music. “Hearing them pretty much changed my whole way of looking at this style,” says Simien, who was particularly impressed with the group’s use of harmony. “I thought, ‘If we could do that in our music it would add a whole different dimension.’”

“It’s all connected – it’s roots music, number one,” he continues. “I always tell people that we have more in common with the Caribbean people than we do with people from Alabama, Mississippi or Texas. We have that Creole connection. If you listen to that old (Jamaican) ska, you’d think you were at a dancehall here.”

This performance at the Cajun-Zydeco Festival marks Simien’s third time playing in New Orleans in recent months – he was at Jazz Fest and also the Bayou Boogaloo. That’s a rarity as most of his time is spent touring both nationally and internationally. It’s a treat to have him around.

Accordionist/vocalist Ruben Moreno, who opens the festival at 11 am on Saturday, is a young man of 25 that has been shaking up the zydeco scene in his own fashion. He grew up in a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood in Houston, Texas though clearly remembers going to sleep with the sound of Zydeco King Clifton Chenier emanating from the jukebox of his grandmother’s bar.

Moreno took the stage for the first time at age 10 playing rubboard sitting in with zydeco stalwarts Leroy Thomas and his father Leo “The Bull” Thomas. Moreno was hooked. Opportunity knocked when he was invited to do some touring with accord­ionist/vocalist C.J. Chenier followed by time spent with another veteran, accordionist Andre Thierry.

Armed with a lot of original material, Moreno has since formed his own band, the Zydeco Re-Evolution, and released two al­bums, 2011’s Por Ti Volare and his recently released Complique. Last year, he and Thierry collaborated with the brilliant David Hidalgo of Los Lobos in a project to share their music and cultures and reveal their common links.

Citing influences like Martin Luther King Jr., Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix, Moreno hopes to make his music not only fun and danceable but also relevant to today’s issues. He’s a talent to watch.

Other festival highlights include Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas led by full-keyboard accordionist Nathan Williams closing Satur­day’s activities beginning at 5:40 pm. Another hot pick is the always-energized accordionist Dwayne Dopsie leading his Hellraisers at 4:15 pm on Sunday.

The Cajun-Zydeco Festival takes place at Armstrong Park from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m .Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7. Admission is free.

The Organ Trio Is Back

The organ trio — organ, drums and guitar — format that reigned supreme in the 1970s sounds just as good as it ever did if you dig jazz with a groove. Ike Stubblefield, an Ohio native, Atlanta resident and frequent visitor to New Orleans, mans the big B-3 organ at Snug Harbor on Saturday, June 6, for two shows at 8 pm and 10 pm. Stubblefield, who boasts an impressive resume including time spent with guitarists B.B. King and George Benson, is in good company with drum master Herlin Riley and guitarist Detroit Brooks. These guys have gigged together quite often so they’re tight and have got the sound down.

“Ike plays with a lot of energy and velocity,” Riley once pronounced.. “He’s one of a few old school artists who understands the groove.”

This article originally published in the June 1, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.