Issue Articles
Amis du Teche: They’ll Play Music Forever
Fiddler Adeline Miller and acoustic rhythm guitarist Amelia Powell of the Cajun quartet Amis du Teche—average age 20—couldn’t be happier. For the first time ever, Amis du Teche is slotted to play Jazz Fest and also has performed at French Quarter Festival this year.
Gregg Hill is Walking Down the Street Smiling
For several years, Gregg Hill has leisurely walked from his stately Bayou St. John home on Moss Street across the historic Magnolia Bridge to the nearby Fair Grounds where Jazz Fest is held—as an attendee.
Johnny Mastro & Mama’s Boys: Elmore James For President (CSB Roxy)
If you think it’s been a while since you’ve seen a Johnny Mastro & Mama’s Boys full-length studio recording, you’re probably right.
Bobby Rush: Undercover Lover (Deep Rush Records)
At 90 years of age and no signs of becoming a Lifeline subscriber, R&B-blues-soul entertainer Bobby Rush became a living legend long ago with his trio of Grammys, including this year’s All My Love For You, 27 studio albums, and eight decades of action-packed performances.
Sean Riley & the Water: Stone Cold Hands (Pugnacious Records)
Compared to his 2018 debut EP, Biting Through, guitarist and songwriter Sean Riley does a complete artistic makeover on his first full-length outing produced by no-nonsense Zen master Dean Zucchero, who also thumped bass on these proceedings.
Travis Matte: Sound of the 1960’s Cajun Dance Halls (Mhat Productions)
The 1960s had to be an exciting time for Cajun music. Even though it hadn’t reached hipster status yet, its dancehalls were thriving, a scene held together by dedicated musicians keeping their precious cultural commodity from succumbing to the destructive onslaught of Americanization.
Dylan Aucoin and The Judice Ramblers: Dylan Aucoin and the Judice Ramblers (Swallow Records)
It must be an exciting time for Cajun music with all the emerging young guns carrying the cultural banner forward. Count 23-year-old Dylan Aucoin among that class. The talented accordionist has been fronting The Judice Ramblers since high school, not long after meeting soulmate and fiddler Luke Huval at a jam. When Aucoin landed his first gig, he dialed Huval immediately, and bam, the nucleus of the band was formed.
Tom Andes: Those LA Nights (Independent)
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Tom Andes attracted attention two years ago with the release of his debut EP Static on Every Station and its buzzy REM-influenced title track.
Preston Frank & The Frank Family Band: Seventy-Five (Soulwood Records)
As time marches on, Preston Frank’s stock continues to rise as an icon of old-time Creole and Zydeco music. The septuagenarian accordionist and vocalist, a fourth-generation musician, is one of the last living links to traditional Creole music, where Creole and Cajun once broke communion together but have diverged in quantum leaps since then. Preston still performs regularly with his family band consisting of progeny Keith, guitar; Jennifer, bass; and Brad, drums; whom he mentored as kids decades ago when assembling the crew.
Has Beans: Cookin (Independent)
What do you get when you take alumni from an assortment of Lafayette bands like Red Beans and Rice Revue, Filé, Lucky Playboys, Hadley J. Castille’s Sharecroppers, Basin Brothers, Coteau, The Traiteurs, HardHeads, Native Sons, Tortue, and countless more? You get the Has Beans, a veteran group with a quarter of a millennium’s worth of experience, give or take a month.
