Though 2024 is half over, Dwayne Dopsie is already knocking out a banner year. On February 26, the zydeco accordionist received a call from producer Raphael Saadiq to be part of Beyoncé’s landmark country album Cowboy Carter, released March 29. The next day, the zydeco accordionist hopped on an airplane bound for Los Angeles to play his accordion on Dolly Parton’s signature classic “Jolene.”
Then, on Sunday, May 5, Dwayne Dopsie was a special guest of The Rolling Stones’ Jazz Fest appearance on “Let It Bleed” and fist-bumped everyone on the way out. During the rehearsal, Ron Wood attempted to play his accordion. Keith Richards compared notes about cooking gumbos, and Mick Jagger talked about his brother Chris, who once had a zydeco band in England and played rubboard.
Dopsie’s twelfth studio effort, his major label debut, Now is The Time, is another significant component of why his banner year continues swimmingly. It features 10 originals and one lone cover, Sam Cooke’s 1962 hit “Bring It On Home,” which is vying for the possible leadoff single with “Dancing in the Streets,” based on Spotify hits. Only a couple of songs, “Highway Man” and “Anything You Want,” have been live staples for some time but were never waxed. Everything else is spanking new.
If they say the accordion is equivalent to being a band in the box, in Dopsie’s beefy hands, it’s an “orchestra in a box,” with a full range of infinite notes, blitzing runs, chugging rhythms, and honking bass offsets he rips faster than lightning strikes. A good portion of this album could be described as zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier or his contemporary, Dopsie’s big papa, Rockin’ Dopsie, Sr., on steroids, not the kind of rousing thing you’d play at sleepy bedtime. Think Chenier’s “Hot Rod,” but equipped with a massive rocket engine.
Despite Dopsie’s ability to generate as much energy as a nuclear power plant, his style is totally rooted in first-generation zydeco. Two songs are sung in Creole French. The waltz “Good Man (Homme Bon)” is particularly dulcet with its gliding, descending chords midway through. On old-time la-la styled “T Lou,” Dwayne recreates the feeling of Creole house dances accompanied by only his older brother, flamboyant rubboardist Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. and drummer Percy Walker, Jr. Naturally, with traditional zydeco, there’s a heavy blues presence, and the romping “Anything You Want” matches up well with any blistering blues burner you care to name.
Unlike today’s crop of zydeco bands, Dopsie loves the throwback sound of saxophonist Tim McFatter as part of his formidable arsenal. McFatter probably has the biggest presence of all the sidemen, bopping on bari-sax to accent the groove and playing heartfelt solos to match the mood at hand.
Dopsie uses his sidemen well, so there’s never any formula or predefined order when others solo. He also has his three older brothers, Rockin,’ the album’s only rubboard scraper, Tiger (drums), and Anthony (keys), playing with him on a track, “Highway Man.” Rockin’ and Anthony play on practically everything else. Anthony’s spaceship keyboard effect on “Dancing in the Streets” supports the mystery lingering about Dopsie’s dreamy vision.
Overall, the tracks flow exceptionally well. The final track, the bust-out “Keep It Moving,” describes Dopsie perfectly. “I’m a hardworking man /I got magic in my hands,” he sings. “I’m going to let my fingers make you dance /I’m going to keep it moving.” With this as proof, Dopsie remains zydeco’s nonstop, action-packed dynamo, indeed a unique entity. Great stuff.
