Festival-O-Rama
It’s the start of festival season. Here is an incomplete list of festival events listed in more detail on the Festivals page at www.floridacajunzydeco.com:
April 29-May 1 --- PENSACOLA CRAWFISH FESTIVAL (Pensacola, FL)
Bands include Pine Leaf Boys, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars, Feufollet, and Voodoo Gumbo. Website: http://www.fiestaoffiveflags.org/
April 30 --- WMNF'S TROPICAL HEATWAVE (Ybor City / Tampa)
Since 1982, Tropical Heatwave has been a rite of spring for fans of eclectic music. Once just a Cuban Club event, Tropical Heatwave now spreads all over Ybor City (Tampa), presenting an incredible lineup of diverse entertainment with more than 60 bands on multiple stages. https://www.wmnf.org/wmnf-events/
May 5-8 --- GATOR BY THE BAY ZYDECO, BLUES & CRAWFISH FESTIVAL (San Diego)
San Diego’s 15th annual Gator By The Bay is the largest, most authentic Louisiana-themed music and food festival this side of the bayou. The festival is at Spanish Landing Park, across from the airport, and features four days of live music with over 90 musical acts on seven stages, and 10,000 lbs. of crawfish trucked in from Louisiana. Its unique location on the waterfront in San Diego makes it a one-of-a-kind festival of Louisiana music and culture.
“As dancers we appreciate some elements that others may overlook. We love big dance floors. We appreciate a shaded space to dance. We love danceable music. And we love to introduce others to the music we love.”
Bands this year include: CJ Chenier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band, Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, Bonsoir
Catin, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys, Roy Rogers, John Nemeth, Curtis Salgado Blues Band, Billy Waton & International Silver String Submarine Band, Sue Palmer and Her Motel Swing Orchestra, Bill Magee Blues Band, Robin Henkel, Motordude Zydeco, Joe Sans Fontenot Cajun Creole Band, Bayou Brothers, Billy Lee and Swamp Critters, San Diego Cajun Playboys, Theo & Zhdeco Patrol, and many more. The event draws 20,000 each year, and offers the dancer five 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. This
is a four-day event which kicks off on Thursday May 5 and concludes on Mother’s Day, May 8. Website: www.gatorbythebay.com.
May 6-8 --- BREAUX BRIDGE CRAWFISH FESTIVAL (Breaux Bridge, Lousiana)
Bands include: Foret Tradition, Richard LeBeouf, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Lee Beniot, Forest Huval, Corey Ledet, Pine Leaf Boys, Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-stars, Paul Daigle & Cajun Gold, Brazos Huval School of Music Students, Cajun Stompers Band, Jambalaya with special guest D.L. Menard, Nathan Williams & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Wayne Toups & Zydecajun, Travis Matte & the Kingpins, Basin Brothers Reunion, Lil Nate & the Zydeco Big Timers, Kira Viator & Bayou Beat, High Performance, Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin Cajuns, Huval Family Band, T Monde, Geno Delafose & French Rockin Boogie, Nik-L-Beer, Wayne & Same Ole Two Step, Terry & the Zydeco Bad Boys, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Family Band Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, Parc Hardy, Breaux Bridge, LA. 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/
May 18-30 --- ORLANDO FRINGE FESTIVAL (Orlando)
Not a Cajun-Zydeco festival, the Orlando Fringe is the longest running Fringe Festival in the United States celebrating 24 years as “Orlando’s most unique cultural experience”. The history of Fringe Festivals began in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1947. There, a number of performing artists who were not official participants of the Edinburgh International Festival (whose participants are invited by its general director) decided to produce their own work in empty stores and church basements. Thus, their work was staged literally “on the fringe” of the established festival. The concept was an immediate success and the Fringe soon became more popular than the “official” Edinburgh Festival. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as of 2012, is the largest festival in the world and Europe’s #1 tourist destination! Website:
http://orlandofringe.org/
Sat. May 21 — (3 p.m. to 11 p.m.) Swamp Sistas La La
at Loch Haven Park in Orlando, Florida. We will raise our voices in song and celebration for a free, day long music festival. In the weeks prior, we are raising money with our online campaign La La Summer Hope to help 2nd Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida feed kids who badly need it this summer. Swamp Sistas is a diverse community of over 2,500 women established in 2010 by singer/songwriter Beth McKee. We embrace our roots while marching to our own drum beat, and we throw giant parties called Swamp Sistas La Las, inspired by the Creole traditional soiree’ where musicians gather, friends dance and everybody gives what they can for a common cause. Website: http://swampsistas.com/
May 28-29 --- SIMI VALLEY CAJUN & BLUES MUSIC FESTIVAL (Simi Valley, CA)
Bands this year include Cajun and zydeco artists Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band, Doug Kershaw with Steve Riley, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, Jo-el Sonnier, Bayou Brothers featuring Sista Judy on Rubboards, Mark St. Mary, Bonne Musique Zydeco, and blues bands Booker T., Eric Burdon and The Animals, Leon Russell, (the great) Barbara Morrison, Alvon Johnson, Guy Martin, Rebirth Brass Band, Reverend Tall Tree and Kelly’s Lot. Website http://www.simicajun.org
June 3-5 --- MICHAEL ARNONE'S CRAWFISH FESTIVAL (Augusta, NJ)
Bands include Marcia Ball, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, The Revelers, David Greely Trio, Amanda Shaw, Mike Zito and the Wheel, King James and the Special Men, George Porter Jr., Samantha Fish, Funky Meters. Website: http://www.crawfishfest.com/
June 9-12 --- 20TH ANNUAL BLAST FROM THE BAYOU CAJUN-ZYDECO FESTIVAL (Preston, CT)
Bands this year include Geno Delafose & French Rockin Boogie, Pine Leaf Boys, Wayne Singleton’s Same Ol Two Step, Jesse Lege and the Bayou Brew, Savoy Doucet Dance Band, Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys, Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, Jimmy Jo and The Jumbol’Ayuhs, Magnolia Cajun Band, Roddie Romero and The Hub City Allstars, and K Jones and the Benzie Playboys. Website: http://eliteresorts.com/destinations/connecticut/strawberry-park/music-festivals/19th-annual-cajun-zydeco-festival-2015/
Visit Festival-O-Rama at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html
when planning your vacations which include Cajun and Zydeco music festivals.