Lafayette’s Festivals Acadiens et Creoles 2025 is Oct. 10-12 | Music | Gambit Weekly

When Council for the Development of French in Louisiana Chairman James Domengeaux and a group of academics, activists and musicians decided to throw a concert celebrating Cajun music and culture in downtown Lafayette in 1974, it was supposed to be a one-time deal.

Nobody had any idea it would eventually become a massive three-day event like Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, which celebrates its 51st anniversary this year Oct. 10-12 in Lafayette.

Held in Blackham Coliseum in March 1974, the “Tribute to Cajun Music Concert” wasn’t just a first-of-its-kind celebration of Cajun and zydeco music. Up until that night, nobody had really put on a show like it before. Aside from a handful of artists like the Balfa Brothers, who’d performed at festivals, Cajun and zydeco music had always been played in much more intimate settings.

“Normally Cajun music was [played] in dancehalls or homes. This was the first time it was on a high stage with a sound system,” Festivals Acadiens’ Vice President of Programming and Development Pat Mould told Gambit. “They had no idea if anybody would show up.”

To make matters worse, a huge storm hit Lafayette that day, causing widespread street flooding even as the show was set to begin.

But any concerns about attendance quickly evaporated when the doors opened and the soggy concert goers began streaming into the coliseum. “The place filled to capacity,” recalled Mould, who attended the concert.

Today Cajun culture is celebrated not only in Louisiana but around the world. But in the 1970s, not only was it largely unknown outside Acadiana, in Louisiana the government and many civic leaders had spent decades actively suppressing it. Schools didn’t teach Louisiana French, and children were discouraged from learning it. Meanwhile, Cajun music, food, art and history were being abandoned.

But the show proved there was interest in Cajun culture. In fact, it was such a success, organizers decided to hold a second one the following year. At that show, zydeco legend Clifton Chenier famously donned a crown and declared himself King of Zydeco, while Zachary Richard put on a fierce display of Cajun music and culture.

According to Mould, Richard’s performance in particular was a defining moment in the burgeoning effort to maintain the culture and pass it on to future generations. During his performance of the classic Cajun tune “Reveille,” Richard raised his fist in the air as a symbol of resistance to efforts to erase the culture.

“He was a young guy, and he rocked it out and showed people this wasn’t just music for old people,” Mould said.

In the years since, the annual concert has transformed into a three-day festival of Cajun and Creole art, music, food and culture. Now held in Girard Park, the festival features music on multiple stages, food vendors representing not only traditional cuisine but chefs creating new dishes and flavors rooted in Acadiana culture, a large art market, Louisiana French language lessons, historical lectures and more.

The festival draws thousands of people every year, who themselves have become invested in it and had an impact on the proceedings. Since moving into Girard Park, festival goers have set up camps in the shaded perimeter of the festival known as Villages des Tentes that help give the entire event more of a cookout vibe than that of an organized festival. The first festival after the COVID-19 lockdowns felt almost like a family reunion.

When the festival, which is free to attend, began requiring paid permits to set up camps in Villages des Tentes, Mould went out to check on the new system. He approached one woman with a 10-by-20-foot tent set up and asked about her permit. “She said, ‘Thank God y’all finally figured out how to give us a way to give you some money!’” Mould said.

According to Mould, several years ago organizers conducted an economic impact study of the festival that found 38% of its audience travels 500 miles or more to attend and that people come from dozens of countries around the globe. “It just blew my mind that we’ve become this sort of global entity,” Mould said.

Fifty years after his defiant set at the 1975 concert, the 51st edition of the festival will honor Richard, who will perform Friday evening. The festival also will celebrate the life and career of Chenier, who would have turned 100 this year, and his son CJ Chenier will perform.

The festival also is looking to the future, Mould said. While classic acts have traditionally dominated the best set times of the festival, this year organizers are giving more prime-time slots to up-and-coming bands and musicians like the Holiday Playgirls, Luke Huval and Chere Elise.

“If you’re doing something for 50-some years, you’ve got to keep relevant,” Mould said.

Artists to see at Festivals Acadiens et Creoles 2025

Friday

Zachary Richard

5:30-7:15 p.m., Scène Ma Louisiane

Zachary Richard has played a wide-range of styles across his acclaimed 50-plus-year career, from raging swamp rock to quiet folk tunes, from traditional Cajun songs to classics more closely linked to New Orleans, like “Iko Iko” and “Big Chief.” And at the root of it all is his deep love for South Louisiana’s cultures, languages and musical traditions. Along with his music — his latest studio album, “Handicap Bonheur,” was released earlier this year — Richard also is an award-winning poet, environmentalist and cultural activist who founded Action Cadienne in 1996.

His set during the opening night of this year’s Festivals Acadiens et Creoles celebrates 50 years since his first performance at the festival’s predecessor, the Tribute to Cajun Music Concert.

Rusty Metoyer & The Zydeco Krush

7:30-9 p.m., Scène Ma Louisiane

Lake Charles native Rusty Metoyer grew up hearing his grandfathers, both Creole musicians, play zydeco music, and after they passed, Metoyer began seriously learning to play the accordion. He wanted to keep the traditions in his family alive, Metoyer has said, but he’s gone further than just preservation: Metoyer has become one of zydeco’s contemporary rising stars.

Metoyer and his band, The Zydeco Krush, inject their zydeco with soul, hip-hop, funk and other genres, and they’ve built up a fanbase through consistent touring along I-10, from Houston to New Orleans. Metoyer’s latest album, “King of I-10,” was released in May.

Saturday

The Holiday Playgirls

10:30-11:30 a.m., Scène Ma Louisiane

The relatively new band The Holiday Playgirls is led by multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Renée Reed and Juliane Mahoney, who bring a new generation’s perspective to Louisiana French music. The duo take their cultural heritage seriously, and The Holiday Playgirls tap into both the joy and heartbreak embedded in Cajun music. The band has just a few singles out now, but they’re a rising group to watch.

Four Generations of the Dopsie Family

3:30-4:45 p.m., Scène Ma Louisiane

Alton Rubin, better known as Rockin’ Dopsie, was one of the pioneers of zydeco music, helping to define the genre along with Clifton Chenier and Boozoo Chavis. He was the son of a Creole accordionist, and today, Dopsie’s own sons and grandson carry on that musical lineage.

At Festivals Acadiens et Creoles, Rockin’ Dopsie’s sons Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., who now leads his father’s band The Zydeco Twisters, Tiger Dopsie, Anthony Dopsie and Dwayne Dopsie will perform together and celebrate the family craft. They’ll be joined by Anthony’s son, accordionist Mike Dopsie, representing the newest generation of musicians in the zydeco dynasty.

The Revelers

3:45-4:45 p.m., Scène Mon Héritage

Back in 2010, founding members of the Red Stick Ramblers and the Pine Leaf Boys got together for a new group that could flexibly dig into a range of South Louisiana styles, from Cajun music and zydeco to swamp pop, country, rock ’n’ roll and rhythm and blues. Since then, The Revelers have toured the U.S. and internationally and earned a Grammy nomination for their 2015 album, “Get Ready.”

Although you can see members of the band — Blake Miller, Chas Justus, Daniel Coolik, Glenn Fields, Trey Boudreaux and Chris Miller — playing often in many different South Louisiana bands, The Revelers continue to find a unique balance in their music, singing in Louisiana French and English and finding inspirations in the past and the present.

Cedric Watson et Bijou Creole

4:45-6 p.m., Salle De Danse

Grammy-nominated musician Cedric Watson grew up in a small town outside of Houston and fell in love with the zydeco he’d hear in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. So as a musician in his early 20s, he moved to Lafayette and quickly became part of the music community.

An accordionist, fiddler and vocalist, Watson performed for a while with the Pine Leaf Boys and worked with Dexter Ardoin and Jeffrey Broussard as well. But in his solo music, Watson has spent much of his career studying and then playfully adapting the musical influences at the roots of Louisiana Creole music, including African, Caribbean and French traditions.

Chris Ardoin & NuStep Zydeko

6:15-7:30 p.m., Scène Mon Héritage

Accordionist and vocalist Chris Ardoin grew up immersed in music as the grandson of Creole accordion legend Alphonse “Bois Sec” Ardoin, and he quickly followed in the family’s musical traditions along with his older brother, Sean Ardoin.

Although traditions are clearly important to him, Chris Ardoin has spent his career pushing his sound into contemporary directions, blending zydeco with hip-hop, R&B, funk, reggae and pop. Earlier this year, Ardoin played accordion on country artist Justin Champagne’s track “What Goes Around” featuring the Ying Yang Twins.

Jourdan Thibodeaux et Les Rôdailleurs

6:15-7:45 p.m., Scène Ma Louisiana

On stage and on his recordings, fiddler and vocalist Jourdan Thibodeaux brings a lot of raw energy to his songs in Louisiana French. He can let things rip or bring them down slow and sorrowful — and it’s all a reminder that Cajun music is a genre full of life.

In recent years, Thibodeaux also has built a social media following for his exuberant videos, mostly in Louisiana French, talking about the languages and traditions of South Louisiana as a fierce, young advocate for his culture. There also are plenty of Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes, alligator hunts and days spent on the boat.

Sunday

Savoy Family Band

noon-1 p.m., Salle De Danse

Accordionist and accordion-maker Marc Savoy and his wife, guitarist Ann Savoy, are icons in Cajun music, and their sons, Joel and Wilson, have both earned acclaim for their work not only preserving the culture but moving it forward. Together, the family of musicians, with Joel on fiddle and Wilson on keyboard, play Cajun music that may be traditional but is full of life and energy. It’s hard to beat a family band of masterful musicians steeped in history and culture.

Chère Élise

2:30-3:30 p.m., Scène Mon Héritage

Drummer Elise Riley started a veritable Cajun music supergroup early last year with Chère Élise. With her behind the drum kit, the band includes her father, Steve Riley on accordion, guitarist Jamie Lynn Fontenot of The Daiquiri Queens; fiddler Amelia Biere, who plays with the Old-Fashioned Aces; guitarist Sam Broussard, part of Steve Riley’s Mamou Playboys; and Pine Leaf Boys bassist Thomas David.

As Chère Élise, they play a range of Cajun music, from traditional songs from the 1920s to modern tunes. The band will be joined by Lafayette-based fiddler Kelli Jones for their festival set.

Clifton Chenier’s 100th Birthday Celebration

3:30-4:45 p.m., Scène Ma Louisiane

It’s the year of Chenier. Zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier would have turned 100 this year, and there have been several tributes and celebrations to the Opelousas native across South Louisiana since the summer. Joel Savoy’s Valcour Records marked Chenier’s birthday with the album, “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco,” which featured a rare contribution by The Rolling Stones as well as Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, the late Tommy McLain and a number of other zydeco greats.

Several of those performers will now join back up for a tribute set to Chenier at the festival. CJ Chenier, Clifton’s son, and his Red Hot Louisiana Band will lead the show, and they’ll be joined by Curley Taylor, Nathan Williams Sr. and Roddie Romero.

Chenier, Romero, Taylor and Williams also will take part in a panel moderated by Ben Sandmel at 11:30 a.m. on the Scène Atelier stage.

Lost Bayou Ramblers

3:45-4:45 p.m., Scène Mon Héritage

Late last year, the Lost Bayou Ramblers celebrated 25 years since brothers Andre and Louis Michot played their first show under their own band name. Andre and Louis had grown up playing guitar and bass with their father, Tommy Michot, and uncles in the traditional Cajun band Les Freres Michot. But that first gig in August 1999, with Andre on accordion and Louis on fiddle, broke open something new.

In the two-and-a-half decades since, Lost Bayou Ramblers have won two Grammy Awards, toured across the U.S. and internationally and are as comfortable playing unamplified sets of traditional Cajun music as they are sweaty clubs with guitar amps and pedal boards. But perhaps most importantly, the Ramblers continue to draw new generations to Louisiana French music in an exciting way.

Bonsoir, Catin

5-6 p.m., Scène Ma Louisiane

Singer-guitarist Christine Balfa, the daughter of Cajun music great Dewey Balfa, singer-accordionist Kristi Guillory and singer-fiddler Anya Burgess co-founded Bonsoir, Catin in 2005, and the group quickly took off in Louisiana venues and festivals. The six-member, mostly female band is rooted in Louisiana French music, but there’s a healthy dose of swamp pop, blues and rock ’n’ roll in the mix.

The band earned a Grammy nomination for best regional roots music album for 2014’s “Light the Stars,” which mixed Cajun dancehall-style tunes with more atmospheric ballads.

Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys

5:15-6:30 p.m., Salle De Danse

Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys have been nearly ubiquitous for more than 35 years, playing venues all over South Louisiana, events from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival to Festival International, to appearances at the Lincoln Center, the National Folk Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Riley, an accordionist, and fiddler David Greely formed the Playboys in 1988, and over the years, the band has developed the ability to change on a dime, from Cajun traditionals to blues rock-powered originals. It’s a flexibility that’s landed them four Grammy nominations and international attention.

After a 10-year hiatus from the band, Greely is back with the Playboys along with guitarist Sam Broussard, bassist Thomas David and Steve’s son Burke Riley on drums.