St. Landry Parish, LA will host zydeco and creole accordionist Randall Jackson on Saturday, August 10 for the Zydeco Capital Jam.

The Zydeco Capital Jam is a series of concerts which began in February 2019 and aims to preserve zydeco in its place of origin. “The goal, all along, has been to give musicians and fans a place to celebrate zydeco in the place where it was born – St. Landry Parish,” said executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission (and frequent OffBeat contributor) Herman Fuselier. “Before the Zydeco Capital Jam started, a zydeco jam had not been held in the parish in almost a decade. During that time, no zydeco jams existed anywhere in south Louisiana. There’ll soon be a zydeco jam almost every weekend. The music and culture will be richer for it.”

August 10’s Zydeco Capital Jam will showcase Randall Jackson’s traditional and contemporary styles. The leader of RJ & Zydeco Smoove, Jackson is also a bass player who has toured with Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band. He was originally scheduled to appear for the July installment of the concert series, but Hurricane Barry forced a cancellation. 

Jackson’s jam takes place at the St. Landry Parish Visitor Center, I-49 exit 23, just north of Opelousas and runs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Those unable to make August 10’s event will have another opportunity on August 24, when The Rural African American Museum in Opelousas hosts a zydeco jam. This particular event is part of F.U.N Day: Family, Unity, Nourishment, which includes the jam, a museum tour, rice and gravy cookoff and more. In September, the Museum will begin hosting zydeco jams on the first and third Saturdays of every month.

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