A sense of joyful innocence surrounds performances by the energetic bare-footin’, hair-flyin’ zydeco man, Terrance Simien. With squeezebox flailing, Simien traverses a stage, jumping and smiling. Simien is, simply, engaging.

These youthful qualities make Simien, 37, an ideal candidate for his latest endeavors as an ambassador of zydeco to children across the country. For the last two years, Simien has presented his specially developed program, “Zydeco: The Music of the French Speaking Creo...