Leon Chavis came out of nowhere. A former trumpet player in Southern University’s famous marching band, the Louisiana native and accordian player found a break-out hit with his 2008 song “Holla @ Me” and now has several records under his belt. Read more.
While many young Zydeco musicians are blending contemporary sounds like R&B and hip hop with the old school style of the genre, bandleader Lil Wayne Singleton stands proudly on the side of tradition. In addition to being the bandleader of busy Southwest Louisiana group Same Ol’ 2 Step, Singleton is an enthusiastic advocate for the culture’s heritage and importance. Read more.
Nicknamed “The Zydeco Sweetheart,” Rosie Ledet is the foremost female Zydeco musician to come out of Louisiana. Her decade-long career has included the release of ten records (most recently 2012’s Slap Your Mama) as well as numerous awards from The Black Heritage Association of Louisiana and others. Read more.
Houston native Ruben Moreno sits at the joint of Zydeco and R&B, using his band Zydeco Re-Evolution to connect the traditions he was surrounded by while growing up with the constantly changing modern trends of the music’s culture. Read more.
Nathan Williams began his music career in the 80s as a kind of therapy following a serious illness. After mastering the accordion, the South Louisiana native and Creole-speaker gathered his family around him and formed the Zydeco Cha Chas – a band that has carried on the Zydeco traditional for three decades now. Read more.
Jazz has Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, rock has Lynyrd Skynyrd and Zydeco has Canray Fontenot. The Creole fiddler was an award-winning Louisiana musician whose original compositions withstood the test of time to become standards in traditional Zydeco and Cajun music. Read more.
Back in 1998 the Philadelphia-based Alligator Zydeco Band appeared on Inside Indre, a TV segment filmed at South Philly’s Indre Studios that showcased local bands. Alligator Zydeco Band features the father-daughter team of Greg and Laura Troiano, a pair that has made a name for itself throughout the Zydeco circles both in their hometown and beyond. Read more.
Philadelphia’s Zydeco dance community Allons Danser will be hosting a Halloween pot-luck and Zydeco party at The TK Club in Conshohocken on November 1st with Zydeco-A-Go-Go. Read more.