Welcome to Issue #47
of FloridaCajunZydeco.com Update!
for December 2016
This newsletter showcases dance events from the FloridaCajunZydeco.com website and publishes articles not on the website pages. On Tuesday, December 6 join us for Cajun Zydeco Dance in Largo at Sweet Island Vibes. Great song list on tap. No cover charge. Please patronize the restaurant.
Tonight, Gumbo Boogie is playing at a new venue in Treasure Island, Capt. Bill’s. No cover charge. Please patronize the restaurant. Easy Street Bayou is back at the Zydeco Grille in Englewood all five Saturdays in December. Also this issue: Spotlight on Rosie Ledet
and brief stories on smaller Lafayette festival and Lynn August. New on FloridaCajunZydeco.com are the 2017 festival listings. All of the major Cajun-Zydeco festivals in Florida, the United States and Europe are listed. If you haven't visited FloridaCajunZydeco.com
website, please do so. It has a new fluid width format which fills your browser window with content for easy reading regardless of whether you are viewing it on a desktop computer, tablet or mobile phone. We're on Facebook in Groups (Florida Cajun Zydeco Dancers) and with our own Facebook Page (Florida Cajun Zydeco). Check us out and "Like" us to see the posts and reminders throughout the week. This is a good way to get your Cajun and zydeco fix between newsletters. FloridaCajunZydeco.com
loves to travel — in your pocket on your smart phone. Check the website for dance information wherever your travels take you. Regards, Jim Hance Publisher, FloridaCajunZydeco.com
Tues. Dec. 6 and Dec. 20 -- Cajun Zydeco Dance in Largo
6:00 to 9:30 p.m. at Sweet Island Vibes, 351 West Bay Drive, Largo 33770. Phone 727-240-4420.
Great song lists this month featuring Lynn August (see story in this newsletter), Rosie Ledet (see story in this newsletter), Chris Ardoin, Keith Frank and all of your favorites. No cover charge. Please patronize the restaurant. Find the restaurant on the corner of 4th. Plenty of free parking nearby if the lot is full (small lot). The menu for the restaurant is at
http://sweetislandvibes.com/ PRE-ORDER DINNER at the Cajun-Zydeco Dance on Tuesday. Earl, the owner of Sweet Island Vibes Restaurant, says, "We would like to offer your group the opportunity to pre-order their meals. If anyone is interested in doing so, they can view the menu on our website at www.sweetislandvibes.com. You can then e-mail the orders to me with their names and we have the items ready at a specific time that you choose." Check out their menu and location at sweetislandvibes.com
Sat. Dec. 3 Gumbo Boogie at Capt. Bill's (Treasure Island)
7:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at Capt. Bill's Beach Kitchen, --- Get your fix of Cajun Zydeco music this Saturday night @ Capt Bill's Beach Kitchen with Gumbo Boogie! For nearly 20 years, Gumbo Boogie has been performing its spin on music distinctive to America, including rock, blues, oldies, country and soul. Jerry Carrier says, "The band has promised an evening with of a majority of zydeco and Cajun music knowing that’s what it takes to bring a good group of dancers." Capt. Bill's Beach Kitchen, 145 107th Ave., Treasure Island. Phone 727-317-3940. Website:
http://captbillsbeachkitchen.com From the Capt. Bill's website: How did the Kitty Mitchell Grouper get its name? Kitty Mitchell was a woman who ran a boarding house next to the Port Royal Lounge in Louisiana in the sixties. Many snapper fishermen passed through that boarding house. She always wore flowing flowery dresses, which resemble the patterns on the fish, and the name stuck.
Saturdays --- Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31
7:00-9:00 p.m. Zydeco Grille, 8501 Placida Road, Englewood, FL.
Website: www.zydecogrille.com Special times on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve -- Check website or call ahead! 941-828-1472 No cover charge.
Lisa Brande and Mark Trichka are back from their summer retreat in Vermont to play for you Saturday evenings at the Zydeco Grille in Englewood, FL. They will be joined by Mary Morella on frottoir. Lisa and Mark play in various ensembles including Slippery Sneakers and Maple Sugar Serenaders, and are alumni of Thomas “Big Hat” Fields Zydeco Band and Al Berard Cajun Combo. They have been full time musicians for 30 years playing swing, bluegrass, Cajun, zydeco, rockabilly and honky tonk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjK9MO19rbE
Spotlight on:Rosie LedetAccordionist, singer and songwriter Rosie Ledet (pronounced led-dett), was raised on rock & roll music. During her teenage years in southwest Louisiana, she listened to classic rock & roll radio stations in nearby Eunice; her favorite groups included Santana and Z.Z. Top. She paid no particular attention to the zydeco music that was around her in her formative years. The music held little appeal for her as a kid. But one evening when she
was 16, she was coaxed into attending a zydeco dance where Boozoo Chavis was playing, and she was intrigued with the energy in Boozoo’s music and the effect it had on the dancers. It was there that she met one of the band members, Morris Ledet. Morris had his own zydeco band. Rosie and Morris were married when she was 17. While he was on the road touring regionally with his band, she stayed home and took care of her ailing mother-in-law. It was during this period that Rosie borrowed Morris’ accordion from the closet and practiced playing it to the recordings of Boozoo Chavis. She began to learn songs intuitively, by ear, and one day surprised her husband by playing a complete Geno Delafose song. Morris encouraged Rosie to continue playing, and within a matter of months, Rosie had recorded a demo of her own songs and secured a
record deal with Maison de Soul, a zydeco label in nearby Ville Platte. The queen of teasing lyrics is renowned for songs with a double entendre. On her 1996 CD Zesty Zydeco, Rosie advised a female rival to keep her dog on a real short leash because she had a place "where he can bury his bone." On the I'm A Woman CD of 1999, Rosie tells her wandering man that she's had enough of his roaming ways, and that he can eat her poussiere. That word is French for dust, in case you are confused.
Rosie Ledet rose in the ranks of the 1990s “zydeco nouveau” bands. This form of zydeco favored by younger artists incorporated other genres and began with Zydeco Force. It was later adopted by other rising stars like Chris Ardoin, J. Paul Jr., and Lil Malcolm Walker. Zydeco nouveau has a booming bass and trademark double-kick drum beat. From there, the nouveau bands differ in incorporating other musical stylings such as rap, reggae, and R&B. Ledet at age 45 is now a veteran at playing and writing her own material in both Creole French and English. While Zydeco is sometimes referred to as "blues with an accent," Ledet adds healthy doses of sass and sensuality to the mix. Her debt to such influential male zydeco stars as Beau Jocque and Boozoo Chavis is obvious, but Ledet expands her repertoire with rock and pop and has explored the pop-jazz realm of Sade with
the sultry "Set My Soul On Fire". Singing in a husky, passionate voice, she can also adopt a breezy 60s sound as she does with "Hello Baby”, a real standout tune. On the Pick It Up
CD from 2005, Rosie musically asked her rubboard player and father-in-law, Lanice "Poppy" Ledet, why he takes little blue pills. He answers firmly, "To pick it up." "It's just another gag song we came up with," explains Rosie. "We were practicing songs for the CD in this big, old barn next to the house. "Bubba (drummer Lukey Ledet) saw one of his favorite uncles passing by. They're always picking at him about his 'prescription.' We started playing around with some words and the next thing we knew, we had a song. We just had to put it on the CD." Rosie's Zydeco salute to Viagra became the CD's title cut and quickly became a fan favorite at her live performances. Before the release of the Pick It Up
CD, ”People were on the ground laughing when they were listening to it," said Rosie. "They wanted to buy it, but we had to tell them just wait a while. It's not out just yet." Rosie Ledet has performed in all of the United States (except Alaska and Hawaii) and has several European tours under her belt. Rosie and the Playboys served as an opening act for Bob Dylan at Newport Folk Festival, and she even had the Godfather of Soul “get on the good foot” in Alabama. "Probably the coolest thing we had happen was when we were at City Stages in Birmingham," said Rosie. "James Brown got up and he was dancing to us. Now any time you can make the Godfather of Soul dance, you must be doing something right." The Godfather was just following Rosie's words in her new song, "Work That Body."
She's giving you the rhythm. Don't you waste it.
Some of Rosie Ledet’s Honors and Awards
• 2008 Louisiana Treasure Award by The Black Heritage Association of Louisiana
• 2007 Zydeco Music & Creole Heritage Award for Best Female Vocalist
• 2006 New Orleans Big Easy Award for Best Zydeco Artist
• 2003 Louisiana Treasure Award by The Black Heritage Association of Louisiana
• 2001 Best of the Beat Awards by Off Beat Magazine for
Best Zydeco Vocalist, Best Performer & Best Band
• 2001 Zydeco Music & Creole Heritage Award for Best Female Vocalist
• 2001 Southwest Louisiana Music Association Award for Best Zydeco Band
• 1999 Zydeco Music & Creole Heritage Award for Best Female Vocalist Discography • 1994 Sweet Brown Sugar
• 1995 Zesty Zydeco
• 1997 Zydeco Sensation
• 1999 I'm a Woman
• 2000 It's a Groove Thing!
• 2001 Show Me Something
• 2003 Now's the Time
• 2005 Pick It Up
• 2011 Come Get Some
• 2012 Slap Your Mama
• 2015 Raw
Dec. 2-4, 2016 --- Bradenton Blues Festival (Bradenton)
This weekend in Bradenton, features Ronnie Baker Brooks, Gold State/Lone State Revue, Victor Wainwright and the Wildroots, Jason Ricci, Larry McCray, Sugar Ray and the Bluestones, Slam Allen Band, Ilana Katz Katz, Damon Fowler, Ari and the Alibis and Doug Deming and The Jewel Tones. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html Dec. 30 & 31 --- Donna The Buffalo New Years Bash at Skippers (Tampa)
8 p.m. Donna The Buffalo. Tickets $25-$40. Skippers Smokehouse 910 Skipper Road, Tampa, FL 33613. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html
February 18, 2017 --- Clearwater Sea Blues Festival (Clearwater)
Walter Trout, Sonny Landreth, Mike Zito, Welwyn Birchwood, The Betty Fox Band, Souliz, JJ Grey & Mofro, The Record Company, The Sheepdogs, The Congress, The Ries Brothers, Bear & Robert. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html February 21-28, 2017 --- Virginia Key Grassroots Festival (Miami)
GrassRoots Live! will include live performances in clubs and venues in the city of Miami by GrassRoots and Miami favorites Wednesday thru Saturday, February 22-25th plus music, arts, yoga, beach activities, kids village, food truck roundup and more at historic Virginia Key Beach Park, Saturday, February, 25 and Sunday, February, 26. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html April 1-2, 2017 --- Crawdebauchery Festival (Pompano Beach)
Bands: Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, Roddie Romero and the Hub City All Stars, The Revelers, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, Rodeo Clowns, Darcy Malone & The Tangle, The Stooges Brass Band, Hip Abduction, Raw Oyster Cult, The Revivalists, Maggie Koerner, Cha Wa, The Suitcase Junket. New Orleans has always stood as one of the most unique cities in the U.S., seamlessly blending native culture with French, Latin, and Creole influences. Musically, the Big Easy is known as the birthplace of jazz. Come on out and celebrate the city and this cultural heritage at the inaugural CrawDebauchery Festival. Enjoy an unconstrained burst of vitality, where music fans will come together to hear live performances from acclaimed national and regional musicians, whose genres range from jazz to bluegrass, Cajun to rock. Taking place on two stages. alongside musical groups,
festival-goers can feast on local traditional New Orleans cuisine like beignets, jambalaya, and po-boys, while browsing arts and craft, and enjoy a taste of the bayou right here in Florida. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html April 6-9, 2017 — French Quarter Festival (New Orleans)
The four-day weekend festival is FREE and there is no cost to attend any of the performances. The only costs are for food, beverage, and merchandise purchases on festival grounds, and certain off-site special events. In order to keep this festival free and open to the public, outside food and beverages are prohibited. French Quarter Festival is held throughout the historic French Quarter (Vieux Carre) neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. Music stages are located at Jackson Square, Woldenberg Riverfront Park, Bourbon Street, Royal Street, Bienville Triangle, Preservation Hall, the French Market, St. Mary’s at the Ursuline Convent, and Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint. ‘World’s Largest Jazz Brunch’ booths can be found in Jackson Square, Woldenberg Riverfront Park, the Jax Brewery parking lot, and Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint. Special
events take place at various locations throughout the French Quarter. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html April 6-9, 2017 — Stringbreak Music Festival (Brooksville, FL)
Bands include Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band, Hayseed Dixie, Tony Furtado Band, Hudost, Grant Gordy Band and more. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html April 7-9, 2017 — Tampa Bay Blues Festival (St. Petersburg)
Tab Benoit, Buddy Guy, The Rides featuring Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg, Coco Montoyo, Samantha Fish, Ana Popovic, Albert Cummings and others. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html April 8-13, 2016 --- Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week (Lafayette)
There’s nothing like Louisiana Folk Roots’ Balfa Week! Our annual Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week is not a school, or a festival, or a family reunion – it’s all those things and more! It’s “The Greatest Week of Cajun and Creole Culture on the Planet!” At Balfa Week, you can learn knee-to-knee with master musicians and culture bearers surrounded by great folks from across the globe. Our motto is “Jouer. Danser. Manger. Répéter. (Jam. Dance. Eat. Repeat.)” – and during Balfa Week, you’ll experience all that and so much more. Balfa Week features: Five days of 10 or more Morning Intensive Classes on fiddle, guitar and accordion; Twice-daily participatory teaching sessions on Cajun & Creole Vocals; Five days of instructor-coached Band Labs; Nightly Dances with fantastic Cajun and Creole bands; Five or
more artist-led Jam des Amis sessions; Intimate afternoon words-and-music sessions with accomplished and legendary Featured Artists; Afternoon Lagniappe Sessions on a variety of topics. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html April 26-30, 2017 --- Festival International d'Louisiane (Lafayette)
Festival International d'Louisiane in downtown Lafayette, LA (Evangeline Parish, LA).The annual 5-day festival is held during the last full week of April. Historic downtown Lafayette, Louisiana, is transformed into an entertainment complex featuring six music stages, food court areas, street musicians and animators, arts and crafts boutiques, art galleries, beverage stands, cultural workshops, international cooking demonstrations and a world music store. Info at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html April 28-May 7, 2016 --- New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (New Orleans)
12 stages at New Orleans Fairgrounds. Info to be posted at http://www.floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html
New Year's Bash at Skippers
Dec. 30 & 31 --- Donna The Buffalo at Skippers (Tampa)
8 p.m. Donna The Buffalo with a warmup band TBD. Tickets $25-$40. Skippers Smokehouse 910 Skipper Road, Tampa, FL 33613. Website: http://www.skipperssmokehouse.com
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Jan. 1, 2017 --- Donna The Buffalo (Boca Raton)
9 p.m. at Funky Biscuit, 303 SE Mizner Blvd., Royal Palm Place, Boca Raton, FL 33432. General information: 561-395-2929. Reservations: 561-465-3946. Website: http://www.funkybiscuit.com.
Marcia Ball in Florida
Thurs. Jan. 5, 2017 --- Marcia Ball in Boca Raton
The Funky Biscuit, 303 SE Mizner Blvd., Royal Palm Place, Boca Raton, FL, 33432 Website: funkybiscuit.com
"Marcia Ball’s rollicking roadhouse rave-ups and soulful Gulf Coast R&B, her barrelhouse playing and her feel-good party tunes are iconic." -- USA Today
"A joyful musical tour of the territory between New Orleans and Austin. Ball’s voice can break your heart with a ballad or break your back with a rocker. -- Boston Herald
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Fri. Jan. 13, 2017 --- Marcia Ball in Bradenton
8 p.m. at Ace’s Live Music, 4343 Palma Sola Blvd., Bradenton, Florida 34209. Phone 941-795-3886. Pre-sale tickets limited time only: $30. Adv. Tickets $35; at the door if available $40. Ace's is a non-smoking venue.
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Sat. Jan. 14, 2017 --- Marcia Ball in Miami
Two shows: 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at South Miami-Date Cultural Center, 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay 33189, www.smdcac.org
Tab Benoit in Tampa
Fri. Jan. 20 and Sat. Jan. 21, 2017 --- Tab Benoit at Skippers Smokehouse (Tampa)
Skippers Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road Tampa, Florida 33613, Phone 813-971-0666. Website: http://skipperssmokehouse.com. Discount ticket prices for both Fri. and Sat.
BeauSoleil in St. Petersburg
Sat. Feb. 18, 2017 ---Beausoleil at Palladium (St. Petersburg)
8 p.m. The Palladium's Hough Hall, 253 Fifth Ave., St. Petersburg, FL. Tickets (listed as $29.50 and $39.50) on sale at www.mypalladium.org. Phone 727-893-7832. Note: this is in the theater, not the lounge.
Flood and Low Oil Prices Force Festival International de Louisiane to Be Downsized
Festival International de Louisiane, the annual downtown Lafayette music festival that features many Cajun and zydeco artists, will have to be cut back in size due to a lack of sponsorship, according to The Advertiser
of Lafayette. With one major sponsor gone and others uncommitted, Festival International officials have cut the Heritage Stage for next year. The Heritage Stage featured local Cajun, zydeco, blues and country bands. Many of these artists may appear on other stages. Scott Feehan, the festival’s executive director, said the loss of the Heritage Stage may be only the beginning of the cuts. Feehan said negotiations continue with sponsors who cite Lafayette’s sluggish oil economy and August flooding as reasons for their lack of participation. With crude oil prices declining, Chevron announced earlier this year a plan to layoff as many as 385 workers in five office locations in Lafayette and Covington. “It’s a tough
economy and then the flood hit. That didn’t help anybody,” noted Feehan. Feehan is looking to locals and corporations for more modest contributions to support the festival. Last year, Festival International celebrated its 30th anniversary as the largest, free Francophone festival in the United States. More than 300,000 annually attend the downtown Lafayette festival, resulting in a $49 million impact in the local economy.
“We don’t need to be a huge pop festival for everybody. We want to be Festival International. We want to be true to our roots and engage with the international communities in this area. We want to stimulate trade, attract businesses to this area. We don’t want to charge at the gate. But it’s up to the community to make that happen.” Festival International de Louisiane will be held April 26-30, 2017 in Lafayette. New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival held April 28 to May 7 overlaps those dates on the calendar.
Lynn August is a Louisiana Treasure
One of zydeco's most versatile performers, Lynn August spiked his native southwestern Louisiana sound with elements of pop, gospel and R&B. Born in Lafayette on August 7, 1948, the blind August was encouraged by his mother to pursue a career in music, and he was raised on a steady diet of zydeco, New Orleans rhythm and blues and swamp-pop. After learning to play drums on an old wash basin, at the age of 12 he was recruited to play percussion with the legendary Esquerita, who convinced him to also take up the piano. A few years later, August made the switch to the Hammond B-3 organ as well. During the mid-1960s, he played with a young Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, later mounting a solo career as well as sitting in with a variety of local swamp-pop combos; he also led a big band, and even directed a church choir. In 1988,
August turned to the accordion and began his zydeco career in earnest; forming the Hot August Knights with tenor saxophonist John Hart, he also studied field recordings made in 1934 by archivist Alan Lomax to absorb the original Creole style of "jure" singing into his own contemporary aesthetic. After signing to the Maison de Soul label, August debuted with It's Party Time, followed in 1989 by Zydeco Groove. A move to Black Top heralded the release of 1992’s Creole Cruiser, with the acclaimed Sauce Piquante
appearing a year later. Lynn August is one of the most unique and talented artists I have discovered from Louisiana. I’ll be featuring some great Lynn August tunes including a "jure" at the Cajun-Zydeco Dance at Sweet Island Vibes this Tuesday in Largo. Here is just an excerpt from Lynn August’s story in his own words: “Shortly after I lost my sight completely, I was about five years old. My parents were determined to find something that I could do. One of the ways for the Catholic Church to raise funds they would give Saturday night dances. One Saturday night there was a well-known New Orleans-based musician by the name of Guitar Slim that was performing at the Saturday night church function which my parents attended. What caught their attention was he had a
blind piano player by the name of RC Robinson. They spoke to the piano player briefly and found out that he was earning a living as a musician. The piano player RC Robinson we discovered three or four years later watching the Ed Sullivan show turned out to be the music genius Ray Charles. My parents would remember the times we would visit my aunt and uncle who had a record player. I would follow the sound until I would find that record player and would not move until they were ready to go. Not long after that, we had a record player at our house. I thought this was the greatest thing and it didn't take too long before I knew all the words of the Fats Domino, Chuck Willis and Lloyd Price songs.” Read more at:
http://www.lynnaugustnow.com/about.html
Outside Florida
Atlanta Cajun Zydeco AssociationDecember 3 --- Jambalaya Cajun Band (ACZA Holiday Party and Dance)
Benson Center, 6500 Vernon Woods Drive, Sandy Springs, GA 30328; Phone: 404-613-4900. Free beginners dance lesson 7-8 p.m. Free intermediate dance lesson 6:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. Dance to live music 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ACZA will be hosting the following bands over the next several months:
Saturday, January 7 --- Zydeco Ya Ya
Saturday, February 4 --- Dennis Stroughmatt & Creole Stomp
Saturday, March 4 --- Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys Atlanta Cajun Zydeco Association website: http://aczadance.org/
Houston/Texas Cajun-Zydeco Eventshttp://www.zydecoevents.com/texaszydecoevents.html Southern California Eventshttp://www.icajunzydeco.com
If you missed last month's newsletter...Discover all of the Update! newsletters and feature stories on Cajun and zydeco artists on the "Stories" page at floridacajunzydeco.com/stories.html
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