Cedric Watson helped make the Pine Leaf Boys stars in the emerging Cajun/Creole “new wave,” recording a CD with the band, Blues de Musicien, which was quickly nominated for a Grammy award. Following that, Watson recorded three of his own Grammy-nominated CDs for Valcour Records (Cedric Watson, L’Esprit Creole and Live at the Blue Moon), [...]
Tag Archives: Valcour Records
Wayne Toups, Steve Riley, Wilson Savoy, The Band Courtbouillon (Valcour Records)
November 1, 2011 – 12:58 am
There’s never been a recording quite like this one. Three highly accomplished Cajun revivalists—each representing a successive generation, each a musical pioneer, and each a highly respected bandleader in his own right—spontaneously coming together in an informal setting to pay their mutual respects to a musical heritage that has now become their shared inheritance. They [...]
Dennis McGee, Himself (Valcour Records)
June 1, 2011 – 12:53 am
Dennis McGee (1893-1989) is perhaps Cajun music’s most influential fiddler, an early recording pioneer who contributed a sizable repertoire that illustrated what pre-20th-Century Cajun music was like prior to the advent of the accordion. Between 1929 and 1934, he recorded what would become standards, most notably with legendary Creole accordionist Amédé Ardoin and longtime fellow [...]
Jesse Legé, Joel Savoy and the Cajun Country Revival, The Right Combination (Valcour Records)
May 1, 2011 – 12:53 am
Joel Savoy has become a central figure in the Acadian Uprising, a second wave of young revivalists coming to the forefront of Cajun music culture in the first decade of the 21st Century. Only 30 years old, Savoy was a founding member of the Red Stick Ramblers, one of the movement’s leading bands, and in [...]
Pine Leaf Boys, Back Home (Valcour Records)
February 1, 2011 – 12:58 am
After countless stateside and international tours, the Pine Leaf Boys realize that you never appreciate what you have until you leave home, hence the premise of the disc’s title. Their Valcour Records debut and fifth disc overall is quite possibly the group’s best musical export yet. The playing is razor sharp with a penchant for [...]
Cedric Watson et Bijou Creole, Creole Moon: Live From the Blue Moon (Valcour Records)
December 1, 2010 – 12:59 am
Creole Moon, a live recording from Lafayette’s Blue Moon Saloon, is Cedric Watson’s second release in less than a year following his late 2009 studio release L’Éspirit Créole. Unlike so many live recordings that follow in close succession to their studio counterparts and have repeat tunes, here there’s no overlap whatsoever. Watson proves that he’s [...]
The Givers, Givers EP (Valcour)
April 1, 2010 – 12:01 am
Lafayette-based Valcour Records broke from their usual Cajun and zydeco fare late last year to sign a local band less than a year old. The Givers describe themselves as “Afro-beat, dancy pants, indie pop love music,” and that’s pretty accurate, actually. Combining funk, calypso and the poppiest of pop rock, the band creates a lush, layered atmosphere, filled with choruses that stick in your head for days. [...]
Three Sides to Every Story
February 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
To the casual observer, the triangle plays a simple and repetitive role in Cajun music, but for the initiated, its high-pitched cry is known to invoke strong emotional reactions. According to multi-instrumentalist and producer Dirk Powell, “Mark Savoy would always say that if there was one triangle left in the world, he would eat it. [...]
