Gloucester Cajun & Zydeco Festival

Gloucester Guildhall will be putting on some of the best Cajun and Zydeco bands as the Cajun Festival brings the sound and atmosphere of Louisiana to the Guildhall.

There will also be workshops, films and a selection of mouthwatering authentic cajun food on offer. Details of Films can be found at the end of the listings.

Details of confirmed bands are listed below, timings and other details to follow soon.

Friday 22nd:
The Whiskey River Zydeco Twisters

Saturday 23rd:
Sarah Savoy and the Francadians
The Boat Band
The Doughboys
Delta Maid

Sunday 24th:
Cajun Company

Further details of all the acts can be found below..........

Friday 22nd

The Whiskey River Zydeco Twisters.....
...are back again after three years in the GCZF wilderness, and happy to be there. Stand by for some suitably TWISTED ZYDECO with the W.R. Zydeco Twisters!
Aidan, Martin, Andy, Pedro, Dennis and Ted will have the joint jumping!

http://whiskeyriver.co.uk/

Saturday 23rd

Sarah Savoy and the Francadians.....
.... are a group of dedicated musicians based in Paris, France, led by Louisiana-born and raised Sarah Savoy. Brought up by two of the most influential names in Cajun music (Ann and Marc Savoy), Sarah fronts this band of French musicians David Rolland (Stompin’ Crawfish, Daisy Belle, Villaine Maniere), Vincent Blin, and Manolo Gonzales as if it were any group of similarly young musicians playing in the Cajun heartland of Lafayette, Louisiana, where Sarah got her start. With the Francadians, Sarah performs traditional Cajun and Zydeco music, reaching back as far as the earliest roots of Louisiana music with covers of Amedee Ardoin, Joe and Cleoma Falcon, and Iry LeJeune, among others

http://www.myspace.com/sarahsavoythefrancadians

The Boat Band
After playing for many years, trawling the venues of Britain and beyond, THE BOAT BAND have picked up a huge and varied catch of tunes: Creole, Caribbean, gospel, Cajun, Irish, zydeco and blues-not much slips through the net.If it can be played on accordion and fiddle (or trombone, washboard, trumpet, banjo etc), if it touches the heart and moves the feet, it`s in the repertoire.

Their latest venture takes the band away from the cajun twosteps of South Louisiana to the dance music of northwest England, drawing on the rich tradition of some thousands of tunes collected by and from the musicians of Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. The favourite current source of good tunes is the Langdale fiddler William Irwin. and The Boat Band have just released new CD "A TRIP TO THE LAKES" featuring these tunes.

Come along to a gig and enjoy the English tunes and songs nestling in alongside the already eclectic offerings, whether it's at an all out ceilidh, a strictly cajun dance or a sit-down concert. The line-up is based on: Kate Barfield (fiddle, trombone, vocals), Mark Burke (percussion, accordions, vocals), Greg Stephens (guitar, banjo, vocals), Tony Weatherall (accordions, vocals), plus occasional special guests.

http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/boatband.htm

The Doughboys
Since their debut appearance at The Ellesmere Port Festival in the early 90s the Doughboys have played at virtually every major cajun festival and cajun dance club in the country including clubs in Bolton, Brighton, Chester, Derby, Hinckley, London, Manchester, Peterborough, Portsmouth and Jersey to name just a few and regular appearances at the File Gumbo nights and festivals in London.
With half of the band being of Latvian origin it comes as no surprise that the band have toured the Baltic Republic of Latvia where they astonished audiences with performances of Cajun, English and Latvian roots music.

http://www.ockndough.co.uk/

http://www.myspace.com/ockndough

Delta Maid

More details to follow

http://www.myspace.com/deltamaid

Sunday 24th

Cajun Company
The Cajun Company has been playing traditional Cajun music for over 14 years. They play this music the old timey way, in the spirit of early Cajun tradition, with all the raw edges and emotions right up front. They maintain the basic instrumental setup of the 20's and 30's: accordion, fiddle, acoustic guitar and 'tit fer. They're digging for the roots of Cajun music and as such they delve back through dancehall classics, rare fiddle tunes and old Creole songs.
Led by Bas van der Poll, one of the most acclaimed accordion players outside of Louisiana, the Cajun Company's solid acoustic sound has earned them a place at the top of the European Cajun scene. Over the years they have performed at every Cajun festival in Europe, toured in Louisiana many times to perform at the Cajun Awards festival in the Blackham Coliseum, Lafayette, in the Liberty Theatre in Eunice and at the Festivals Acadiens, Lafayette.

http://www.cajuncompany.net/

The Kingdom of Zydeco (18)
Dir: Robert Mugge
(UK 1994) 71mins

We are privileged to present this classic documentary by acclaimed director Robert Mugge. The film looks at the black Creole music scene of Southwest Louisiana and at an attempt there in the mid-90s to name a new 'King of Zydeco'. The original self-proclaimed king was the great Clifton Chenier (actually, he claimed to have been crowned by the Queen of England), who did more than anyone to develop Zydeco's musical form and to promote it around the world.

After Chenier's death, his good friend Rockin' Dopsie was crowned king by the Mayor of Lafayette under somewhat questionable circumstances. When Dopsie, too, died not long thereafter, a struggle ensued over whether to crown veteran accordion player Boozoo Chavis or the much younger Beau Jocque. The core of this film is a joint concert appearance by both contenders, billed as the event that would determine Zydeco's future king, along with efforts by the Louisiana Hall of Fame to crown Boozoo Chavis in accordance with the supposed last wishes of Rockin' Dopsie. Also shown performing are the respected band leader John Delafose and talented younger artist Nathan Williams. But the film is as much about storytelling as it is about performance, and the tall tales come not only from musicians but from competing night club owners.

Kerman Richard and Sid Williams (brother of Nathan), from DJ Lester Thibeaux, from record store owner Irene Hebert (sister of Lester), from Zydeco Association heads Wilbert Guillory and Paul Scott, and from Louisiana Hall of Fame founder Lou Gabus. The film's climax documents the actual crowning of the new king, which many fans never accepted. The music throughout is hot - and the controversy even hotter.

"THE KINGDOM OF ZYDECO is both a cunning little comedy of manners and a sweet-tempered celebration of roots music. The Chavis-Jocque tussle is prototypical American status buffoonery painted in folk-miniature. Both these men kick out the jams in thrilling performances filmed with blissful authority by Mugge, a specialist in roots music documentaries such as 1991's DEEP BLUES. It's Chenier's legacy - and Mugge's observational skills - that triumph in the end." - Gene Seymour, New York Newsday