Basin Brothers fiddle and guitar player Al Berard had an aneurysm last night, according to a statement from his family. Berard was pronounced brain dead at 9 a.m. on February 26, 2014.

Al Berard in 2007. (Photo Credit: David Simpson)

Berard, a mainstay on the Cajun music scene who is also a producer, lived in Cecilia, Louisiana. According to Robin May, a photographer with the Lafayette Independent, doctors at Lourdes Hospital in Lafayette initially thought Berard was suffering from pneumonia, but later determined it was meningitis.

Al Berard’s daughter, Maegan Berard, will appear at the Festival Internationale with Sweet Cecilia.

Berard has earned several Cajun French Music Association Awards, including Fiddler of the Year in 2007, Best Recording with a Fiddle in 1992, and Song of the Year 2006 for “Ma Petite Femme” as a songwriter. He also won a People’s Choice Award in 2007 for Old Style Cajun Music along with Jason Frey.

UPDATE

Al Berard passed away on February 26, 2014. Read more about his untimely passing in the Daily Advertiser.