2003 Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival

Wickedly high heat and humidity couldn't put a damper on the fun to be had at this year's Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. The schedule of bands was outstanding and featured a rich mix of Cajun, zydeco and swamp pop. In addition there were cultural heritage events, local crafts, great food, an amusement park, separate Cajun and zydeco dance contests, crawfish eating contests & a crawfish etouffee cookoff. The traffic situation, which was the big pitfall of prior festivals, seemed manageable this year, and both days I was able to get in and out of town with little problem.

The Crawfish festival features three separate stages: the largest is the Crawfish Stage, followed by the negligibly smaller Festival stage. In addition there is a more intimate Breaux Bridge tent, which showcases special events, like the crawfish eating contest, and heritage acts, and provides needed shade. Music is staggered so that there is always something going on, and you can sample all the bands, if you so desire. The stages are close to each other, but smartly situated so there is virtually no sound bleeding from one site to the other.

The selection of bands was superb. Here's a partial listing (and no, I did not have the energy to see them all!) Zydeco acts included such big crowd pleasers as Dwayne Dopsie, Rosie Ledet, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, & Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas, as well as the Sam Brothers Zydeco, Thomas Fields, Pancho Chavis & Boozoo's Majic Sounds. Cajun bands included Beausoleil, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Balfa Toujours who shared their set with 87 year old Bois-Sec Ardoin, The Basin Brothers, the Lafayette Rhythm Devils (featuring Mitch Reed on fiddle), Huval Family Band, Bruce Daigrepont, Belton Richard, Danny Collett, Jr. Melancon, Damon Troy, The Lucky Playboys, Harry LaFleur & Fea Follet. Swamp Pop favorites included Lil Band of Gold, The Boogie Kings, Lil Bob & the New Lolipops & Moe-D.

Personal highlights for me included:

Rosie Ledet's performance. I have not seen Rosie in a while and she has matured from the shy girl I remember from the mid-nineties into a dynamic stage performer. One of few woman in zydeco leading her own band, Rosie plays accordion, writes her own sly material, has a strong voice, and puts on a great show. She has a tight backup band now consisting of such zydeco pros as Chuck E Bush, who was Beau Jocque's bass player, and Cookie Chavis who used to play guitar for Geno Delofose. Her husband Morris plays rubboard, and together they sound funky and fabulous. In some ways, Rosie reminds me of Beau Jocque - big voice, big sound, big stage presence, but still firmly imbedded in the zydeco tradition, and without too much glitzy show biz to her act.

Dwayne Dopsie. While I didn't particularly care for where he was taking the music, I sure was impressed by Dopsie's stage presence, accordion pyrotechnics, and how he has morphed his brand of zydeco into a big city urban sensibility. With his startling light blue eyes staring out under a leopard skin hat, and hoisting an accordion named Mercy, Dopsie makes an unforgettable sight. Accompanied by a young Chinese bass player & dyed blonde spiky haired lead guitar player, these guys play loud, funky and fast. Rockin' Dopsie Senior's genes for showmanship have certainly been passed down to his son!

Balfa Toujours with Bois Sec Ardoin: a great performance by an inspiring band. If there was a Rating Board for Cajun & Zydeco music, Balfa Toujours would have to be rated PG versus the R-rated shows of Dwayne Dopsie and Rosie Ledet. This is not a necessarily a bad thing. There is such pure joy in their music and they have a glowing stage presence. The band members are "cultural activists", deliberately setting themselves up as representatives of their Cajun heritage, and with good reason: as is well known, Christine Balfa is Dewey Balfa's daughter, and Courtney Granger is his grandnephew. Kevin Wimmer studied with Dewey as did Christine's husband, Dirk Powell. Courtney has a voice that reaches back generations, Kevin & Dirk's musical chemistry when they take the lead on such songs as Blue Runner or twin fiddle Dennis McGee tunes is palpable, and Christine lights up the stage with her smile. And when they bring 87 year old Bois Sec Ardoin on stage to play with them, the mutual affection is heartwarming. You come away feeling awed and inspired by their shows.

The Basin Brothers. Al Berard is also one of those Cajun musicians whose joy in the music just radiates from the stage. Along with Al, the band consists of his daughter, Megan, on guitar and vocals, Faren Serette on fiddle, Tommy Bodin on bass, guitar and vocals and Keith Blanchard on drums and triangle. The band enthusiastically plays high energy Cajun traditional Cajun music and are a pure pleasure to watch, listen and dance to.

It's hard to beat the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival if you are looking to experience the breadth of great Southwest Louisiana music in an authentic small town Louisiana setting. Just be sure to come early, bring your sunscreen and a chair, and drink plenty of water, and you will have a fabulous time.

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