Ever since Steve Riley’s sons Burke and Dolsy could walk, they’ve been involved with music in the family household. After a few years, the young musicians (now twelve and nine years old) were so accomplished that their dad, an accordionist and frontman for the Mamou Playboys, felt confident enough to stage livestream concerts from home when the pandemic obliterated gigs everywhere. Thousands around the globe tuned in, and in the process, the Riley Family Band kept performing and expanding its repertoire.
The Riley Family Band’s debut recording of a baker’s dozen tracks is an outcropping of such livestreams. Though Steve’s impeccable, signature accordion playing is presumably heard on every track, he plays the loud little box only on eight, leaving the rest for Burke and Dolsy. The two hold up their end so well it’s challenging to distinguish them from Papa Riley.
Burke demonstrates he has the chops to tackle tough instrumentals like “Mulberry Waltz” and “Perrodin Two Step,” as well as lead a graceful rendition of “J’ai passé devant ta porte.” On an innovative version of “Scott Playboy Special,” Steve and Burke play the melody together before the elder Riley switches to harmony, thus allowing Burke to take the rest of the lead. When Burke’s not on accordion, he keeps dead-on rhythm on acoustic guitar. As a vocalist, he’s coming into his own, singing lead on “Mulberry” and sharing lead and contributing harmony on several others.
Dolsy likes challenges too and figured out the accordion parts on a pair of non-Cajun tunes, Sam Cooke’s “That’s Where It’s At” and Charles Brown’s “Driftin’ Blues.”
Besides honoring tradition, the Riley Family Band dots its musical landscape with three originals written by Steve, two of which were pandemic-inspired. The beautiful, French-sung “2020” addresses sorrow and a hopeful ending, while the more contemporary, English-sung “King of Quarantine” looks at our recent era of isolation. The perky title track features a splendid guitar flat-picking solo by producer Chris Stafford, who also lends a hand on organ, piano and bass.
While no one will argue that the Riley Family Band’s interpretations of “That’s Where It’s At” and “Driftin’ Blues” work well within Steve’s traditional-progressive framework, Pete Seeger’s “If I Had a Hammer” triumphs over this trio of tunes. Initially, the social activist’s song was aimed at the labor movement but later became a civil rights anthem, thanks to Peter, Paul, and Mary. Around the time of the senseless George Floyd execution, the Riley Family Band pulled the tune into its repertoire. With such vital phrases as “hammer of justice” and “bell of freedom,” the thought of embracing diversity and families delivering that message while carrying on musical traditions forms a powerful combination.
