Lafayette – Sweeney's Gumbo YaYa

To mix it up on Gumbo YaYa, I often played music from acts from Baton Rouge and Lafayette. But until this week, I had barely passed through those towns. A musical evening in Lafayette and a quick blues festival stop in Baton Rouge began the process of remedying that experience gap.

Kim and I have been driving about a bit since the last show and we’ve caught music in Bend, Oregon (The Pinehearts), some stray live tunes in Moab, Utah and Santa Fe, and a hoedown at the Little Longhorn Saloon in Austin. But we hit the main music vein when we got to Lafayette.

Fingerpistols at The Little Longhorn Saloon, Austin, April 19, 2022

We caught a few bands downtown and at the Blue Moon Saloon but the big strike was the “Medicine Show” a showcase of student and faculty performances from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Traditional Music Program. The program was celebrating 25 years of providing guidance to young musicians in the history and practice of Cajun music, zydeco, bluegrass, blues and other root styles.

Accomplished students with famous last names such as “Benoit,” “Sonnier” and “Guidry” offered up songs such as “Hand Me Down My Walking Cane,” “Give Him Cornbread,” and “Zydeco Stomp.” In all, five distinct student groups took the stage led by some of the all-star cast of this amazing music program.

The faculty includes, among others, Nathan Williams Jr. of Lil Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timers, Chas Justus of the Revelers, Chad Huval with Beausoleil, Blake Miller of the Red Stick Ramblers and Pine Leaf Boys, Gina Forsyth solo fiddler/songwriter and Lee Allen Zeno who played with Buckwheat Zydeco. All of the faculty performed, including coming together for an “Instructor All-Stars” performance. That was followed by another long set by an ad hoc group that included Zachary Richard, Sonny Landreth, Henry Hample, Ward Lormand, Gary Newman and Danny Kimball.

From left: Sonny Landreth, Gary Newman, Ward Lormand and Zachary Richard, Angelle Hall Auditorium, Lafayette,

The next day, Kim and I drove into Baton Rouge, hooked up with Bill Boelens who co-hosts Dirty Rice on KRVS in Lafayette and Back Down the Bayou on WPVM in Baton Rouge. We got on downtown for the blues festival and caught Roddie Romero and Michael Juan Nunez as they were performing Romero’s “The Creole Nightingale Sings” from his excellent Gulfstream release from 2016 (Show featuring my interview with him.) This fan boy moment of meeting these two musicians after their set (and getting Nunez new record) was made even greater when Bill introduced me to Larry Garner who was sitting in the audience preparing to catch the next act. This Louisiana Blues Hall of Famer has three of his records on the KAOS blues shelf and I’ve drawn from them regularly over the years.

Wrote more than I really wanted to do, just needed an excuse to show off these pictures.

Me, Roddie Romero and Bill Boelens

Roddie Romero and Michael Juan Nunez at the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, May 23, 2o22

This show dives into Lafayette music, with a strong assist from Yvette Landry’s new swamp pop album, Louisiana Lovin’. If you click the player below, you’ll start the show with Dr. John and Cyril Neville singing”Chickee’ Le Pas” – – whatever the heck that means.

Landry starts off the first full set of music with “Yea Yea Baby,” a wonderful duet with Roddie Romero who a few years back almost won himself a grammy for his Gulfstream release — which is where the second song “One Trick Pony” comes from. (Here’s more on Romero.) In the interest of balance, Michael Doucet does “Fonky Bayou” and Fernest Arceneaux performs “It’s Alright.”

Zachary Richard continues the Lafayette groove with a live performance from the Acadien music festival. Later, Landry does an encore from her new album, a cover of “Take it Easy, Greasy.” In all, its a great way to start the show but I do eventually take us back to New Orleans with some classic funk.

The Explosions do two of their three singles they recorded under the guidance of Eddie Bo as producer. It seemed to fit to spin Bo’s 1960 release “Every Dog Has Its Day” during that set.

I play cuts from new records by Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Big Al and the Heavyweights and the Radiators. You can see the full playlist here or just let the music flow over you. Thanks for tuning in and consider subscribing.