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Vermilionville hosts ’Gateway to the Grammys’

This Thursday, Vermilionville will host its “Gateway to the Grammys,” which is a Grammy send-off fundraising party for three local bands who will soon be making their way to Los Angeles for “Music’s Biggest Night.”

Barry Ancelet & Sam Broussard, Joshua Caffery and Joel Savoy and Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars are set to play Vermilionville’s Performance Center on Thursday, Jan. 12 from 7 - 9 p.m. The evening will be emceed by KRVS 88.7 FM’s “Zydeco Stomp” host, Herman Fuselier.

“Not only is it a huge honor for all who made these records to be recognized so prestigiously, but it’s a huge coup for Acadiana as a whole,” said Savoy in a release announcing the event. “New Orleans has consistently been represented in the five Regional Roots nominations, but this year we’ve kept them all close to home, and I think that says a lot about where we are as a community.”

The Recording Academy recently announced its nominations for the 59th annual Grammy awards. Three Acadiana groups were nominated for the Best Regional Roots Album Grammy, along with Hawaiian musician Kalani Pe’a and Native American group Northern Cree.

This will be the first time that Barry Ancelet and Sam Broussard have been nominated for a Grammy as a duo for their album “Broken Promised Land.” They will be sharing Vermilionville’s stage on Thursday with Joshua Caffery and 10-time Grammy nominee Joel Savoy who were nominated for “I Wanna Sing Right: Rediscovering Lomax in Evangeline Country” along with Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars who were nominated for “Gulfstream,” which is their first album in 10 years since their 2007 Grammy nominated album “La Louisianne Sessions.”

“When we think about the music here, we think of Cajun and Zydeco, but these three records are anything but that,” adds Savoy. “To me, that indicates a sort of shift in the way that the people here perceive themselves and the way that we are perceived by the rest of the world. We’ve still got deep roots, but it seems like the constraints of what defines our music and our culture are fading away to make room for a whole new era of creativity in Acadiana.”

Regional public radio facility KRVS 88.7 FM, housed on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, will do a special live broadcast of the event from Vermilionville. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and food and beverages will be available for purchase. The cost is $15 per person, and six VIP tables at $250 (bottle service and appetizers included) are available as well.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 337-233-4077, or visit GatewayToTheGrammys.BrownPaperTickets.com.