The Rebirth Brass Band will compete for its first Grammy on Sunday when Rebirth of New Orleans will be up for the Best Regional Roots Music Album Grammy. The award is one of the hundred or so that will be given out during an afternoon ceremony dubbed the “pre-tel” or pre-telecast, which will stream live [...]
Tag Archives: Terrance Simien
The Grammy Awards: Everything vs. Everything Else
January 1, 2012 – 12:06 am
“And the Grammy in the Category of Contradiction and Confusion goes to ….” That announcement would be made at next month’s Grammys if zydeco music veteran Terrance Simien had his way. Simien is still steaming that the Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album was one of 31 categories the Recording Academy cut last year in [...]
The Grammys: Behind Closed Doors
August 1, 2011 – 12:04 am
[OffBeat gave NARAS’ Bill Freimuth a chance to respond to some of the questions raised in the story below. They didn’t arrive in time to be included in the physical magazine, but they’re included at the end of the story.] Did you hear the one about the guy that went to a fight and a [...]
Grammy Come, Grammy Go
April 7, 2011 – 9:55 am
I have a hard time feeling a sense of great injustice for the Recording Academy’s decision to consolidate categories, in the process wiping the Best Cajun/Zydeco Album category. I’d prefer that they still have it, but the reasons are largely selfish for the region. It has helped drive local membership in NARAS (a good thing) [...]
Cajun/Zydeco and Other Grammy Awards Eliminated
April 6, 2011 – 1:24 pm
The Grammy Award categories for the upcoming year have been pared down to 78 categories from 109, and one of those that lost out was the Best Zydeco or Cajun Album award. was part of the now heavily reorganized American Roots Music field. That field will now feature a Best Regional Roots Music Album award, [...]
Terrance Simien and Buckwheat Zydeco: Together at Last
May 1, 2010 – 12:05 am
Buckwheat Zydeco and Terrance Simien have been part of two Grammy wins, six Grammy nominations, an Emmy, three Presidential inaugurations, 10 movie soundtracks and dozens of national TV shows and commercials. Each has toured more than a million miles and although they both live near Lafayette in southwest Louisiana, they’ve never played together. Until now. [...]
Grammy Business
February 1, 2010 – 12:01 am
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards are filled with ties to New Orleans and Louisiana. From the nominations of Harry Connick, Jr. in the Pop category and Allen Toussaint and Terence Blanchard in Jazz categories to the acknowledgements of the True Blood soundtrack and Dave Matthews’ latest effort (recorded at Piety Street Recording), the diversity of [...]
Simien, the Mouse and the Frog
December 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
There’s no surprise Walt Disney Studios selected zydeco musician Terrance Simien to perform on the soundtrack for its new animated film, The Princess and the Frog, which is set in New Orleans and the swamps of Louisiana. The Lafayette resident has spent three decades taking zydeco to the world. By bringing his accordion, rubboard and [...]
Tri-Fest-A
June 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
Thought festival season was over? Not so fast. Three staples of Louisiana culture—the Creole tomato, seafood, and Cajun and zydeco music—will come together once again for this year’s Vieux-To-Do. The two-day event will be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 13—14, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and it will bring together three festivals: the [...]
Cajun Mardi Gras: The Rules of the Road
February 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
Like its New Orleans counterpart, Cajun Mardi Gras is a processional festivity. But unlike its better-known brethren, it’s rooted in the medieval fête de la quémande, a ceremonial begging ritual. During a Mardi Gras run, costumed, masked revelers travel from house to house along the countryside to obtain ingredients for a communal gumbo to be [...]
