Gloucester Cajun and Zydeco Festival
Friday 23 to Sunday 25 January 2009
UK’s Number One International Cajun and Zydeco Festival!
A Three Day Cajun and Zydeco Party!
Petite et la Gross Petite et la Gross are a Cajun band featuring some old faces and some new! Put together by swamp supremo Chris Hall it features Hazel Scott on guitar and vocals (formerly with Hazel Scott Playboys) Lil Jim on Cajun accordion (Deepzone Zydeco) ,Mitch Proctor on fiddle (Bearcats/ RCajun) and Chris Hall himself on drums. Traditional Cajun music played with passion, skill and grace, by a band who have established themselves as one of the newest yet finest Cajun outfits in the UK
Joe Le Taxi Zydeco Band A mix of authentic Creole blues, sleazy shuffles, and old school waltzes influenced by such legends as John Delafose and Bebe Carriere and the more funky Zydeco Nouveau style of Boozoo Chavis, Beau Jocque and Keith Frank. With an energetic line up of great musicians, Joe Le Taxi & The Zydeco Band pack the dance floors across the UK and Europe with a laid back groove that is guaranteed to keep that dance floor jumping!
ZFunk Hard core Zydeco, inspired by Keith Frank, Chris Ardoin, and Beau Joque, played with passion and skill by a band with a reputation second to none. A great hard rocking Zydeco show featuring Gavin Lewery (accordion), Tommy Mills (bass), Dave Luke (guitar)’ Andy Watson (drums) and Sioned Camlin (scrubboard). Come along and see for yourself the dance machine par excellence that is Zfunk.
R.Cajun And The Zydeco Brothers The band who kick started the UK scene almost 30 years ago. Eight albums later with a string of national radio and TV appearances behind them they are still going strong and still inspiring new bands to play the music! Good enough for Paul McCartney’s own Christmas party and good enough to play at his daughters wedding! They have done more than any other band in this country to take the music to a wider audience. A heady mix of Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp Pop, and Louisiana Rock n roll. The business!
The Bearcats Trio Hard driving accordion, soaring fiddle and a rock solid guitar rhythm. Look out the Bearcats are back and ready to rock the house with the sound that has earned them the reputation as one of the best traditionally based Cajun bands in Europe. A groove that takes no prisoners and always fills the dancefloor. They will be playing as a trio for this gig but don’t be fooled these guys rock like a 5 piece band!
Zigazag have carved out a reputation as one of the finest traditional Cajun bands on the scene which is hardly surprising since members Carol Wilson (drums) and Phil Underwood (Cajun accordion) spend so much time hanging out in Louisiana they are practically considered to be residents! They have played many festivals both here and abroad and are firm favourites with Cajun dancers for their authentic sound and obvious deep love for the music they play.
An audience with Gavin Lewery Gavin Lewery treats us to the story of Cajun and Zydeco music in the UK. A journey back in time along the highways and byways highlighting the development of the this scene illustrated by music, anecdotes and tall stories. A tour de force Cabaret show seen through the eyes of one who knows and is prepared to kiss and tell! Catch this show now before it hits the West End.
Hackney Ramblers The Hackney Ramblers have been around for more years than any of them care to remember and have built up a reputation for supplying great good-time Cajun dance music. Using the classic Cajun dance-hall repertoire as a starting point they add different flavours to the pot, 30s string band fiddle tunes sit alongside Creole blues, Cajun honky-tonk and Western-Swing adding up to an irresistible, steamy, gumbo.
Whipoorwills Big Band Formed especially for Gloucester 2008 this band started life as a trio. For many years, the British Cajun music scene has been thrilled by the accordion dynamics of Gavin Lewery, the awesome vocals and rock steady guitar rhythm of Rod Boyes and the bittersweet fiddling of Ian Tothill. Now they have grown into a big band with the addition of steel guitar, upright bass and drums. A brand new band and a brand new big sound for 2009!
The 309’s The 309s cook up a list of great songs from the west side of the Atlantic from the 1930's to the 1950's. “We're basically a swing band knocking out great rhythms for jive dancing, jitterbug or lindy hop” Bob Wills meets Lefty Frizell, Hank Williams, The Louvins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis. With fiddle, guitar, harmonica, bass and drums, these 4 guys will surely provide a contrasting sound that will have everybody jumpin’ and jivin’.
Cajun All Star Jam After the Bearcats trio set on Sunday night the finale once again sees members of bands from the festival combining into a glorious organised jam session which many consider to be the highlight of the weekend. Don't miss this show. If you are working on Monday take the next day off work and stick around. You won't ever see the likes of it!
Cajun dance workshops led by Cajun Kay Anderson from the thriving S.E. coast Cajun scene. She will be running three workshops over the weekend catering for all abilities.
Zydeco dance workshops led by Zydeco Cowboy Phil Underwood of Zydeco band Zyderythmics. He will be running three workshops over the weekend catering for all abilities.
Accordion Workshop with Gavin Lewery
Fiddle Workshop with Ian Tothill
Vocals Workshop with Hazel Scott
Jam Sessions This year we've again set aside the bar area where people can get together, jam, eat, and drink. Check it out - pop in for an acoustic jam or just hang out and chill. Bring your instruments and join in or try out your own tunes and songs. Obviously you will hear Cajun and Zydeco but all musical styles welcome. There's also other smaller rooms in the building which are available for those who want to jam in a quieter less public environment. Alternatively, space is available at the European Blues Association's resource centre at Greyfriars. They also have guitars to borrow and places to sit and play.
The European Blues Association is a registered charity dedicated to the promotion of music evolved from African American roots. Its Archive of African American Music is a rich resource for anyone interested in the historical past and the modern progression of Cajun, Zydeco, Blues, Soul and Jazz. Rare recordings, literature and memorabilia are freely available to the public in its Resource Activity Centre. It's located on the second floor at the Music and Drama Library, just the other side of the market hall from the Guildhall. Drop in to check our their Cajun and Zydeco collection between 11am and 4pm on Friday and Saturday.
Festival updates, more news, links to artists sites on www.swampmusic.co.uk
Routes Dancing
to New Orleans (cert tbc)
Dir: Alex Reuben
(UK 2007. 48mins)
In 2005, London-based DJ and director Reuben took a trip from North Carolina to New Orleans to document the everyday music and dance of the Deep South. Subtly the choreogeography of Appalachian Bluegrass, clogging, Mississippi fife-and-drum blues, krumping, Memphis hip-hop, the Tuscarora Indian smoke dance, Lousiana Cajun, zydeco and swamp pop makes telling links between the landscapes and communities in which they are firmly rooted. Racial faultlines, political undertones and historical continuities gradually emerge as the film builds to a life-affirming climax in Katrina-hit New Orleans..
Friday 23rd
January at 7.45pm
Saturday 24th January at 2pm
£5.50 season ticket holders free