Louisiana Crossroads Music Series Overview | Entertainment/Life

“Keep taking deep breaths,” I kept telling myself. “It’ll slow my heart rate.”

Usually interviewing musicians on stage is as easy as eating cake and ice cream. But this interview was with Irma freakin’ Thomas. In my decades as a music writer, I never met the Soul Queen of New Orleans, easily one of my favorite artists.

Four songs into her set at Louisiana Crossroads in Lafayette, topped off by the hand-holding, belly-rubbing classic, “It’s Raining,” Queen Irma was ready. My shaking legs brought me to her side, as she sat center stage before a sold-out audience.

I turned into a full-fledged fanboy. I begged friends in the audience — anyone — to take our picture.

I thanked Queen Irma for her music, her voice and quipped, “’It’s Raining’ is responsible for my children!” The audience roared. Queen Irma even blushed. And Nov. 14, 2024, will forever reign as a career highlight.

I promise not to turn into a fanboy again in the new season of Louisiana Crossroads. This music and conversation series with homegrown music legends takes place at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in downtown Lafayette.

This year kicks off my third season as host. There’s no Irma Thomas encore, but the lineup remains stellar.

There’s more New Orleans flavor in the Jan. 29 opener with John Boutté. The Crescent City singer carries the soul, jazz, gospel and blues music of his hometown in his voice, which the world experienced in the HBO series “Treme.”

Guitarist Chris Thomas King, still enjoying fame as bluesman Tommy Johnson in the hit movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” visits Feb. 20. King, son of Baton Rouge blues icon Tabby Thomas, raised some eyebrows regarding the music’s origins in his 2021 book, “The Blues: The Authentic Narrative of My Music and Culture.”

“The Medicine Show Legacy” on March 19 celebrates the 15 years of the Tommy Comeaux Chair in Traditional Music at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Slide guitar wizard Sonny Landreth and friends, who helped establish the fund in a series of legendary concerts, return for the anniversary.

On May 14, the Atchafalaya Reunion assembles original members of the legendary Cajun rock band. In its heyday, Atchafalaya entertained legions of fans from Thibodaux to Turkey.

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After a summer break, Crossroads returns Oct. 1 with “The Creole Continuum: Transcending Tradition,” featuring Terrance and Marcella Simien. Terrance is a two-time, Grammy-winning zydeco musician whose daughter Marcella performs her own spiritual and cultural interpretations.

Crossroads wraps up Nov. 19 with “Twenty Years of Valcour Records,” at musician Joel Savoy’s studio near Eunice. Savoy turned the spot that held his grandfather’s outdoor kitchen into a recording destination with multiple Grammy nominations, including the heralded “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco.”

Again, I pledge no fanboy behavior this year. But I can’t wait to eat more musical cake and ice cream at Louisiana Crossroads.

Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.