Yes, the headline is spelled Won. It is a play on words. After you read this retrospective of my life and career, you might get it. Or maybe not.
Yes, the headline is spelled Won. It is a play on words. After you read this retrospective of my life and career, you might get it. Or maybe not.
On the Record: Corey Henry, ‘Lapeitah’
New Orleans brass albums — while good — are often like a bucket of peanuts: They may come in different shapes and sizes, but they are all still roughly the same. Not so here.
On the Record: ‘The Revelers Play the Swamp Pop Classics Volume 2’
Volume 2 may disappoint music fans looking for a collection of songs that South Louisiana cover bands should have left alone 30 years ago. But for those who prefer new thoughts instead of carbon copies, it will do just fine.
Egan concerts celebrate life of gifted songwriter
"Sing It: The David Egan Songbook" will be a mini tour in March featuring an all-star cast performing David Egan's spectacular songs — and raising money for his eponymous fund.
On the Record: Vermilion Whiskey, ’Spirit of Tradition’
This is pure, un-watered down, high proof-by-volume hard rock.
That one time at SXSW with Scott H. Biram
Catch the Dirty Old One Man Band at the Blue Moon — while you still can.
On the Record: Chris Ardoin & NuStep Zydeco
These are the songs audiences want to hear the most. And that’s what Ardoin — a zydeco circuit, festival staple and flag bearer for the Ardoin legacy — gives them.
LA Crossroads presents Sonny Landreth & Friends
The critically acclaimed Louisiana Crossroads music series returns this month with a very special performance by Sonny Landreth & Friends.
On the Record: Strange Theories
Before Gabe Broussard started appearing on "The Voice," his band Strange Theories was already gigging around Lafayette and selling their debut record.
On the Record: Courtney Granger’s ‘Beneath Still Waters’
This record is too country for the country charts. And that is the saddest part of all.
As the year closes, take note of these entertainment items you may have overlooked.
On the Spot: Ryan Cazares of Sour Sedans
Vocalist and guitarist Ryan Cazares talks about Melting Pot 6 and the way to get rich by offering things for free.
On the Record: Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys do Noël
As far as holiday records go, this one is a keeper, destined to come home every year for the holidays — at least at south of Interstate 10.
On the Record: Christopher Slim
Slim’s latest project is a tough and ballsy business, a malt shop massacre kind of love.
Al Berard Music Fest celebrates Pyook, honors legacy
Started after his untimely passing in 2014, the Al Berard Music Festival returns on Dec. 3 at NUNU Arts and Culture Collective in Arnaudville.
Locals recreate The Band’s final peformance Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at Acadiana Center for the Arts.
Sekhani closes out Bach Lunch series Friday
Roots rocker Kevin Sekhani, formerly of The Mercy Brothers, brings his high-energy, gospel-tinged rock ’n’ roll to Parc Sans Souci Friday for the last of the concert series’ fall 2016 run.
For the first time since 2007, The Weary Boys play the Blue Moon
The Weary Boys were indicative of the sound that had a great run in Austin and Lafayette during the early 2000s: anchored in traditional and old school country music but played with a youthful, near manic vibrancy.
Doublewide is the band Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister would have fronted in Austin 12 years ago.
Rhythms on the River goes Nashville
William Michael Morgan performing at Rhythms on the River Thursday (Oct. 13) is one of the series’ biggest bookings ever.
Swamp pop gets its due at FAeC this weekend
Legendary vocalists G.G. Shinn and Tommy McLain will be featured with The Creole String Beans from 4-5:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16 at Festivals Acadiens et Creoles.
On the Record: The Nouveau String Band
This record will probably not delight purists and staunch fans of the artists from which they borrow but that doesn’t mean its not fit for the rest of us.
If the gems here are clues to better and bigger things when the band does get around to their next full-length, it will be remembered as a welcome harbinger.
Fall into the blues at Warehouse 535
If you need more reason to welcome cooler temps and the eventual arrival of Gumbo Weather, get thee to Warehouse 535 for the kickoff of Blues on the Green.
Employing a freedom — of ideas and away from genre constraints — that our scene has always had, Brass Mimosa’s Stay Sharp is equal parts funky and Lafayette-born.
On the Spot: Jim ‘theJim’ Nobles
A very busy man with many plates, bands and musical projects in the air talks about his music and passions.
The term no-frills isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Matt Babineaux illustrates that on his A Place to Fall, a seven-song debut featuring him gently dressing up his singer-songwriter rock with a no-frills approach.
Dale Watson’s legit country music arrives Sunday
While Watson is a favorite among alt. country fans, he is not an alt. country artist. Instead he plays country music the way it should be.
The four member hip-hop group LOADED Team Porch Squad hit their fourth anniversary this past July — a feat for any non-roots group in Lafayette.
On “Archipelago” Melody Parker promises pop music infused with "Cajun" influences. She doesn’t deliver.
"Lumière — Heart Notes on The Bayou" is not an everyday sort of album. But that isn’t a flaw.
Sure to Offend’s cuts are live, non-overdubbed tracks of just Pharis and his guitar, with him utilizing his raw finger-picking style to weave vignettes and half-indictments of the current state of the nation.
On the Spot: Chistopher Deshazo
Deshazo talks about his new band, Durwoord, which makes its debut July 2 with The Butchers and Cathead Biscuit Boys at the Blue Moon.
Longtime Lafayette musicians Danny Kimball, Phil Kaelin, Blake Castille and Lee Tedrow elevate guitar rock to the level of political and social consciousness with an ear for history.
Most of Briana Babineaux's songs fall under the stylistic umbrella of contemporary urban gospel — with a few departures here and there — and all of it is well produced.
Despite your frame of mind, your job prospects, the day you had at work, it is undeniable how stellar the Viatones sophomore effort is.
Voodoo Fest 2016 lineup announced
The 2016 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience Lineup has finally been announced featuring performances from Tool, Arcade Fire, The Weeknd and many more.
Garfunkel concert at AcA traces its roots to Katrina
Art Garfunkel’s performance will benefit a foundation dedicated to alleviating child and family grief through art and music.
On the Record: Gregg Martinez — ’Soul of The Bayou’
There’s a lot of soul sounds on these tracks, along with smoky Southern grooves, Delta guitar licks and swamp pop styles.
On the Record: The Boogie Kings
With a title as bold as "Legacy," this really should have been a live recording featuring the Boogie Kings doing what they do best — performing live.
Back Tracks: Ronnie Chauvin/Ramada
The lead singer of Frigg A-Go-Go lifts the curtain on The Penetrating Sounds of Frigg A-Go-Go, the band’s first full-length record — recorded in a sandwich shop in the hopes of buying a van.
AcA hosts ’Play It Again’ spring instrument drive
The Acadiana Center for the Arts will be collecting and repairing instruments through its Play It Again Instrument Recycling Program now through July 18.
'In The Yellow Leaf' is a tremendous record that doesn’t sound like it came from a small label.
LUS Fiber’s Wi-Fi hotspots return to FIL
Local provider offers free, high-speed service at three locations.
Get a ‘Rise’ out of Michael Juan Nunez’s new record
Nunez may pull vocabulary from a few different vernaculars but is fluent in his own tongue
On the Spot: G. John Prestigiacomo
Though G. John Prestigiacomo started playing fiddle after he retired; he’s quickly become a sought-after bow master.
Acadiana’s Ken Holloway may be singing “I’m Leaving,” but his Christian values aren't going anywhere.
Though not at all old, Judd Kennedy is an elder statesman of the Acadiana music scene, having ridden it out from the days of the Purple Peacock to deejaying at Nitecaps and running Renaissance.
Back Tracks: Sean Ardoin+Zydekool
In ‘Return of the Kool’ Sean Ardoin invented a new genre — with a band that had never cut a zydeco record before.
On the Spot: Mitch “Heffe” Briggs
A champion of the local scene, Mitch “Heffe” Briggs used to run Heffe’s Saloon. Now, he is trying to turn the ‘used to run’ into ‘runs’ again.
Lafayette’s Nicest of the Damned follow-up the Beach Boys, but not really at all.
By the time she recorded 1994’s "Réveille: The New Cajun Generation" (Swallow Records), Kristi Guillory — then only 15 — had been called the best emerging Cajun star by Zachary Richard.
Back Tracks: Zachary Richard, ’Cap Enragé’
Nearing its 20 year anniversary, Zachary Richard looks back on "Cap Enragé," a record that changed his approach to the recording process and ushered in a return to his French language roots.
On the Record: John Lisi, ’Shut the Front Door’
Lisi does a great job of fusing New Orleans rhythm and groove into the blues and introducing new tracks to the lexicon, which has far too many covers.
On the Record: Julian Primeaux
From start to finish, this is a great album that somehow pulls from multiple influences yet remains unique.
Local musician Caleb Elliott to perform on CBS: This Morning
CBS is about to become ‘Caleb Bows Sweetly’ thanks to the Acadiana-based cellist
On the Record: Skye!, Belle of the Boot
If she puts together a knockout band, she could easily be sharing a bill with Keith Frank, J Paul, Chris Ardoin and the other top draws in young zydeco. In no time, they’d say “Rosie who?”
You may know him as the intrepid independent journalist who covers state government with his Louisiana Voice website, but Aswell is also an accomplished music writer.
On the Record: Jaryd Lane’s ‘The Drifter’
Lane's new EP displays his best qualities: earnest and hard-hitting songwriting driven by his dynamic voice.
Back Tracks: Santeria’s ‘House of the Dying Sun’
Easily one of the best — if not the best — modern rock albums to come out of Lafayette, the 2002 release was a Southern rock gem with a heady edge, poetic lyrics and auditory delights.
While not to compare the lovely ladies of Sweet Cecilia to the caloric bomb sitting in my fridge, their Sweet Christmas album is a bit like eggnog.
ON THE RECORD: T’Monde’s ‘Yesterday’s Gone’
Is this a collection of 100-year-old, archival traditional Cajun tracks or does it just sound that way?
In an exercise of vanity, I brag about my personal relationship with St. Paul and his Broken Bones, set to play ACA this Saturday.
Recorded in 1991 and 1992 and released in 1994, C.C. Adcock’s self-titled debut got his career as a solo musician/band leader started. Here he looks back on a record he cut at the age of 21.
Just a coupla C.C.s talking Doyle Bramhall II
Brace yourself for the potentially destructive reunion of C.C. Adcock and Doyle Bramhall II.
Have no fear. The Latest Shipment is here.
With The Latest Shipment, Caroline Helm is introducing Lafayette to four new bands and its newest venue, in one nerve-racking race to the finish.
That's why I love Randy Newman
Randy Newman, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and The Blind Boys of Alabama announced in a preview of upcoming AcA performances.
Local singer-songwriter Lane Mack released his self-titled debut album this week, which is currently trending at the top of the iTunes Blues chart.
The IND's Nick Pittman reviews new releases from Cedryl Ballou, Marty Christian and more.
The instrumental rock scene in Lafayette is dead. Long live the almost instrumental rock scene. Sideburner owes a lot to the sounds of a plethora of heady (not heavy), instrumental metal bands that dominated the local rock scene in the early 21st century, namely Collapsar (a band in which Sideburner drummer Brett Judice played as well).
On the Record: new music for August
The IND's Nick Pittman weighs in on new records from Taylor Verret, Plush Claw, Steven Joubert and Lee Benoit. ON THE RECORD By Nick Pittman Taylor Verret Things Left Unsaid Taylor Verret and Taylor...
AcA continues to foster the arts and culture in Acadiana' with Play It Again. Photo by Jessica Andrus The program accepts virtually any instruments - didgeridoos are probably an exception - with...
Lafayette blues rocker C.C. Adcock recognized for pioneering' promotion of Slim Harpo's music. The first time Johnny Palazzotto met musician C.C. Adcock, the Lafayette rocker was 15 and couldn't get...
Dege Legg's version of the season is not what you'd expect. Photo and CD cover art by Mike Buck Blogger of crazy taxi cab rides (see an excerpt of his forthcoming non-fiction novel below),...
After performing more than 70 years, The Blind Boys of Alabama stay motivated, true to gospel music. After performing more than 70 years, The Blind Boys of Alabama stay motivated, true to gospel...
Pat Metheny: Still Learning After All These Years
The jazz master's latest project swings through Lafayette in mid February. Pat Metheny will turn 60 in August. By then he will be wrapping up the European leg of a world tour - about 100 concerts in...
Jaryd Lane channels Bob Seger and his inner modern cowboy on 78.' It's fitting that when Jaryd Lane played the Bayou Country Super Fest, it was only in the parking lot. Lane doesn't fit into the...
High energy Andy Frasco at JSP For fans of blues that know how to party, Andy Frasco is heading to Jefferson Street Pub Thursday night. The Los Angeles musician known for an impressive 200-plus-tour...
Inspired by Eno, built by Burton, The Formal Institute of Great Hit Tunes is Music for Villains' FIGHTs Take Flight Inspired by Eno, built by Burton, The Formal Institute of Great Hit Tunes is Music...
Get ready Broussard ... Black Flag is coming
After reincarnating earlier this year, old-school hardcore punk rockers Black Flag will make a stop Thursday at The Station in Broussard as the band wraps up the Summer of Love tour. After...
Yeah, They're Called Royal Teeth
The name may be a bit, um, odd, but this South Louisiana pop group is ready to take a big bite out of stardom. Don't ask where the name comes from. We did - they dodged the question. But Royal Teeth...
Country legend George Jones dies at 81
The peerless, hard-living country singer recorded dozens of hits about good times and regrets and peaked with the heartbreaking classic "He Stopped Loving Her Today." NASHVILLE, Tenn. --...
New Orleans Jazz Fest features living legends
If there's a theme to this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, it may be living legends. NEW ORLEANS (AP) - If there's a theme to this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, it may...
IberiaBank and PASA are sending a group of Northside High freshmen girls to the local production of Dreamgirls and affording them the opportunity to meet the cast. As part of its sponsorship of the...
Clef Notes: I'll Play the Blues for You
In its loneliness and despair, a classic tune finds a sweet spot by what it leaves to the imagination.
After a year-long hiatus, the celebrated hiphop cultural showcase returns to the Feed & Seed this Friday to celebrate the many up and coming artists in Lafayette's often overlooked hip hop...
Wherein I give you Part II about a wonderful, gracious blessing named Irma Thomas. Irma Thomas, seated, is joined backstage after her Grammy triumph by, from left, husband Emile Jackson, the author...
Turning Cajun and zydeco musicians loose on rock music was a novel idea for the first En Francais. The novelty has worn off, but the thrill these melded melodies produces is no less welcome on En...
Artmosphere hosts band battle in December
Atmosphere is kicking off another round of its "Best of the Bands" singer/songwriter competition each Wednesday this month. This holiday season, Artmosphere is giving local bands and...
This week in awesome: Bro Dege featured on Tarantino's next film
The IND's favorite Psyouthern rocker Dege Legg has his song "Too Old to Die Young" featured on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's latest film "Django Unchained." Brother Dege is...
Live on Friday: Paul Thorn & Walter Jr.
Paul Thorn, a Mississippian boxer-turned-bluesman, will join local soulman Walter Jr. live in concert Friday at Vermilionville; oh, and did we mention tickets are going fast? Here's what the show's...
Texas Blues Coming to Lafayette
Though a bluesman from Texas, Hamilton Lewis is less Stevie Ray Vaughan and more Bo Didley meets Johnny Guitar Watson, says his manager. Hamilton Lewis, a Texas bluesman who learned his chops from the...
Rockabilly in Sans Souci tonight
Roll up your sleeves, grease your hair and call your favorite bobbysoxer because tonight Robbie Taylor takes the Downtown Alive! stage. Roll up your sleeves, grease your hair and call your favorite...
Zydeco Festival rescheduled for this weekend
Tropical Storm Lee brought Acadiana this blissful weather and several cancellations of events, among the casualties St. Martinville's Creole Zydeco Festival. But this weekend, it's back on. Sept. 10,...
Does Anybody Want to be a Winner?
The New Orleans Bingo! Show - brainchild of Lafayette native Clint Maedgen - delivers multimedia cabaret with junk-shop panache and French Quarter Soul. The New Orleans Bingo! Show has come a long way...
The intimate documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song re-introduces the pioneering musical radical just when we might need him the most. Pete Seeger never shied from being the center of a song...
Bluegrass icon Ricky Skaggs and adventurous pianist Bruce Hornsby bring their spirited collaboration to Lafayette. Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby Ricky Skaggs’ recently released CD with Bruce Hornsby...
Acclaimed rapper, actress and talk show host Queen Latifah comes to Lafayette with her latest musical love: jazz, big-band and American standards. She first made her mark as the "Queen of...
The Red Stick Ramblers are aiming high with their new deal with Sugar Hill Records. In local music, there is a downside to the success of bands such as BeauSoleil and Sonny Landreth. The more popular...
Legendary Southern record label looks back to the future. "Can you dig it?" rumbled the husky baritone of Isaac Hayes as he introduced the first Stax Records 50 Year Reunion concert at the...
After parting ways with major label Island Records, Carencro's Marc Broussard takes a 180-degree turn on his new album. Marc Broussard looks like a boxer in training. He's compact, talks with a...
Talking Louisiana music, hurricanes, and songwriting with pianist, singer/songwriter and longtime Lafayette favorite Marcia Ball. You're playing Thursday in Lafayette for a unique collaboration with...
From blues and rock to funk and punk, here's the rundown of prime CD box sets for your favorite music lover this holiday season. Various Artists What It Is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves from the...
The Ind's picks for the can't-miss sets of Festivals Acadiens Tribute to Cajun Music Revisited 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, Louisiana Folk Roots Tent In 1976, the Tribute to Cajun Music moved from its...
The debut CD from Lafayette regular Dax Riggs' new band deadboy & the Elephantmen has major festivals and magazines calling. As Dax Riggs ponders the amount of time he spends on the road, fresh...
An all-star benefit concert DVD and a veteran New Orleans brass band's reinterpretation of a classic Marvin Gaye album provoke mixed emotions. "Tonight is about the burial of Katrina and the...
Hank Williams' last Drifting Cowboy moseys into Lafayette for a night of honky tonkin' classic country music. At 79 years old, pedal steel guitarist Don Helms does pretty much whatever he wants these...
Festival International and the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival were emotional respites from the hurricanes of 2005. On the surface, the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival...
Hurricanes be damned: Festival International de Louisiane and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival announce their 2006 lineups. For six days and eight nights in late April and early May,...
Fiddler and frontman Michael Doucet reflects on three decades of BeauSoleil as the band prepares for its 30th anniversary shows. It's often said that being in a band is like being in a marriage, and...
The cream of the crop of hurricane-relief CDs. Music is the universal language, and the outpouring of support in the form of hurricane'relief CDs shows how deeply Hurricane Katrina affected the...
Nick Spitzer and his New Orleans-based nationally syndicated American Routes radio program are calling Lafayette home ' for now. The opening piano notes are both familiar and strange. It sounds like...
In the shadow of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana native Lucinda Williams returns for a rescheduled Monday performance at Grant Street ' and a chance to remember that home is where the heart is. I'm...
The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic and numerous additional efforts help displaced musicians start rocking in Lafayette. Bethany Bultman spent the week after Hurricane Katrina hunkered down with her...
After leaving Louisiana, new locations and new stimuli have fueled a singer-songwriter's muse. "I loved New Orleans ' I still do ' but it was time to seek out a different world," says...
A first look at the line ups for the 2005 Festival International de Louisiane, the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival The holidays are barely over, and...