Michael Doucet, the lead musician in the Cajun band Beausoleil, underwent emergency surgery after slipping on ice and fracturing his hip while on tour in Fairbanks, Alaska. Beausoleil had finished a concert at a school in Fairbanks on Friday, April 1, after which Doucet, 71, left his hotel room to purchase snacks at a nearby convenience store where the accident occurred. Following an operation on Saturday, he has been recuperating and plans to return to his home in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Wednesday.
In spite of Doucet’s hospitalization, remaining members of BeauSoleil managed to pull off a scheduled concert that evening as a reduced quintet. The group then proceeded to Anchorage for a performance.
“I have to say, they didn’t miss a beat: his brother picked up right where he left off,” Fairbanks Concert Association director Anne Biberman said to the Anchorage Daily News. “It’s fun, it’s lively — I mean, it’s just fantastic music. You can’t help it feel good. You can’t help but want to move. We had people dancing in the aisles on Friday night. It was just great to see.”
Michael’s brother and fellow band member David Doucet posted to Facebook on April 2: “What a day yesterday was. We’re up in Fairbanks, Alaska, for a show. Yes, it’s cold but springtime is just around the corner, and I’m thinking I’m in the middle of a Johnny Horton set. It’s also April Fool’s Day and I get a phone call from my brother that he’s slipped on the ice by our hotel and has broken his hip and is scheduled for surgery this morning. No fooling. Quite a lot to take in: 2500+ miles from home, two BIG shows and NO Michael.”
David told the Anchorage Daily News that the band scrambled to create a show absent Michael and his distinctive Cajun fiddle. “We didn’t do a soundcheck—we’d already done one (the day before), so we just went right cold into it — Bam! 7:30,” David Doucet said. “It was rushed, but I think it came off very well. We did have a good time. People treated us very well.” He reported that fans were sending cards to the Fairbanks hospital after learning of Michael’s mishap.
Since BeauSoleil formee in 1975, the group has received numerous awards. Their 1996 album L’Amour Ou La Folie earned a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album, and in 2008, the band won another Grammy as the Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album for the album Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Michael Doucet became one of 12 artists awarded a National Heritage Fellowship.
BeauSoleil has canceled shows in the immediate future in order to give Michael a chance to recover. It is not known whether the group will perform at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival on Saturday, May 7, or the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on Sunday, May 8. For more information, visit BeauSoleil’s official website.
