Last winter New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band stopped by the NPR Music offices to film a Tiny Desk Concert, holiday style. A tuba-playing Santa and his crew of brass musicians cover songs like Bill Evans’ “Sugar Plum” and the jazzed-up “Happy Holiday,” ho ho ho-ing and joking that they are from the South Pole. Read more
Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys bring the Mardi Gras celebration straight from Louisiana to Material Culture in Philadelphia on February 21st. The costume contest and concert will keep the carnival going a few days longer, as fans will be able to dance and sing along to Broussard’s blend of traditional songs and modern style. Read more
Creole for Kidz & The History of Zydeco is a CD and live show created by musician and educator Terrance Simien. He’s taken the show on the road up and down the eastern seaboard, including a special presentation at the Berklee College of Music for its American Roots Music and African Studies visiting arts program. Read more
Forget boughs of holly; take a cue from C.J. Chenier and “deck the halls with cayenne pepper” and this playlist of zydeco and other Louisiana holiday tunes. In this first installment of Zydeco Crossroads’ Holiday Mixtape you’ll find seasonal songs by Cupid, Aaron Neville, Kermit Ruffins and more. Listen below and check back next week for more. Read more
To round out their Sense of Place: Lafayette special, World Cafe dug into the archives and pulled out an interview with Louisiana musician Bobby Charles. Growing up twenty miles south of Lafayette in Abbeville, LA, Charles grew up surrounded by early forms of Cajun music that he would go on to modernize. Read more.
Michael Doucet (of Beausoleil) sat down with World Cafe’s David Dye for an interview during Sense of Place: Lafayette. The Louisiana musician and university professor covered a multitude of topics during the session, including the history of Creole and Cajun cultures in Southwest Louisiana. Read more.