Festival International de Louisiane is a premiere international music and arts festival in Lafayette known for bringing a variety of unique and emerging performers to Louisiana with a special emphasis on the connection between Acadiana and the Francophone world. Drawing more than 300,000 attendees every year, the festival features musical performances by artists from over 20 countries along with workshops, exhibits, visual art, theater and other forms of performance arts. The five-day festival will be held April 27–May 1, transforming downtown Lafayette into an entertainment mecca.
Many of the artists who were scheduled to perform before the pandemic are excited to finally join the festival in person.
“Cimafunk was one of those bands we were really looking forward to bringing here in 2020.” said programming director Lisa Stafford. “We will finally have them this year. Get ready!”
The Afro-Cuban funk sensation Cimafunk was recently recognized by Rolling Stone for El Alimento, which ranked among the 50 Best Albums of 2021. This group features high-energy, gritty funk-soul with eight accompanying musicians for an electrifying live show.
“Festival fans always ask for reggae, and we are giving them the best,” Stafford added. The Wailers will be returning after a few years for the big closing show on Sunday night.
On the eclectic side, groups like DahkaBrakha, a folk punk group from Ukraine, and Les Filles de Illigahdad, with the surprise element of rare female touareg musicians, are included in the lineup. Acts representing the Francophone world include Delgres (France/Guadeloupe), La Patente (New Brunswick), Bon Enfant (Québec), The Daiquiri Queens (Louisiana), Lakou Mizik (Haiti) and The Reminders (Belgium/U.S.)
The cultural celebration will bring the best of the best of Lafayette and Louisiana’s homegrown talent, covering genres from Cajun and zydeco to indie rock, blues and more. The likes of Lil Nathan & the Zydeco Big Timers, Grammy Award-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers and Robert Finley, one of Louisiana’s most renowned bluesmen, who recently toured with Dan Aubreach of the Black Keys, will be gracing the stages.
“The streets will be filled with the oh so sweet sounds, sights, and tastes of Festival International again this April” said Stafford. “Join us for the festival so we can not only feel normal again, but feel great again.”
Festival International was conceived in 1987 as a multifaceted cultural event of international scope and significance. In broad terms, the mission was to develop a unique, spectacular forum for cultural expression, exchange and enrichment, and to create an opportunity for sustained economic growth and diversification.
For more information, including a full list of performers, visit here.
