Heir Unapparent

According to Steve Riley, before Dewey Balfa passed away in 1992, he feared for the future of Cajun music, citing a lack of young fans and musicians.

Balfa, a Cajun music legend and purveyor of the culture, can rest in peace. When The Times went looking for the next young musician to explode into the top tier of Cajun music and headline a future Festivals Acadiens, the only answer proffered was, "There are so many, who can tell?"

Indeed, it appears that there is no shortage of young upstarts devoted to playing the music that has filled dance floors for generations. These musicians are building their kingdoms at dancehalls, restaurants, festivals, back porches and music showcases across Acadiana, the country and the world.

"Who's going to take it into the next generation? I am not sure," says Barry Ancelet, University of Louisiana at Lafayette folklorist and host of the Liberty Theatre's Rendez-vous Des Cajuns in Eunice. "Who's the next Wayne Toups? We will recognize him or her when it happens.

"What I am also not sure about is what the nature of that next step is going to be. Every time there is a next step, it has been a great surprise. Who could of anticipated Wayne Toups? Who could anticipated, for that matter, Belton Richard? Who could have anticipated Aldus Roger? Who could anticipated Lawrence Walker? But really, who could have anticipated Iry LeJeune coming back after World War II and playing old-time Cajun music and singing in French again after the direction seemed pretty clear that we were moving toward country music in English?"

Ancelet, perched on the stage of the Liberty Theatre, is in a prime position to pick off the next performer to cram Henderson's Atchafalaya Club with fans. The weekly show features scores of musicians, some of them not old enough to tie their own shoes, cranking out authentic Cajun music.

David Greely, of Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys, agrees that it's difficult to tell who will be the next star and points out that they might not have started performing yet.

"Kids are cute. They can't help being cute, and we can't help throwing the world at their feet if they pick up an instrument and show some talent," says Greely. "It takes an exceptional kid to realize that's not enough, that they must continue to learn. There are a few who have come out well, with good guidance, but they're rare, and they're not enough to form a whole generation of quality Cajun music. If a young person has to earn his or her respect, then he or she's more likely to come up with exceptional work."

Although neither is sure who will carry the torch, Ancelet says he isn't losing sleep over the music's future.

"That's the wonderful thing about this culture. It's remarkably resilient. It's got this way of surviving, in a way, that is often surprising."

Where the future takes them musically, however, is another question. Years ago, Ancelet opined in The Makers of Cajun Music that Cajun music is what an unruly lot of musicians play - on any particular weekend - at festivals stages, house dances, dancehalls and back porches. "'Both Cajun and Creole music continues to evolve in their own terms. Interestingly, those terms have become remarkably complex as many of today's young musicians are drawn in new unexplored directions.'

"So there's all kinds of things pulling people in all kinds of crazy directions. Who knows what's going to happen? But I tell you what, it has always been fun to watch," says Ancelet.

Those directions, though, Greely says, will hopefully never get too far off the course. One trend in Cajun music appears to be a blending of styles. Some popular bands making the rounds augment a Cajun sound with outside influences. However, Greely says he doesn't necessarily think there is any need to break out the lap steel just yet.

"It's like Leviticus and Deuteronomy. You can't get a Revelation without it," he offers. "Without a sincere love for that old music, you can't do modern Cajun music worthy of the name. There will be, I hope, new forms of Cajun music we haven't heard yet, as well. If there aren't, we're doomed.

"It's a good thing to salt the music with other styles, if you do it with taste. You learn taste by doing your homework with the old masters. The trick is to know when to stop - when it's different enough. It doesn't take much to make it new and delicious."

Balfa would have probably agreed. He once said, "A culture is like a whole tree: You have to water the roots to keep the tree alive, but at the same time you can't go cutting off the branches every time it tries to grow."



Speaking of New Tastes

At one point a few years ago, the buzz around the dancehall was that Horace Trahan would inherit the Cajun music crown worn by the old masters and new traditionalists alike.

"Horace is a very talented Cajun musician. He had a wonderful opportunity to grow and become one of the best traditional Cajun musicians of his generation, not to mention how he could have inspired future generations of Cajun musicians," says Michelle Leder of the Cajun French Music Association.

Leder says that what set Trahan apart from the pack was his close adherence to roots sounds. "It was as if his heart and soul were driving him to play. I think he had a real passion for the music, and I think not many young musicians even want to play Cajun music in such a traditional format."

However a few short years ago, Trahan shocked his fans when he formed a new band and began playing Zydeco music. But the Horace Trahan saga didn't end there. Early this year, he shelved his accordion and canceled his gigs, citing a newfound, deep devotion to God and a desire to put his boozing and gallivanting past behind him.

Trahan's departure from the genre, however, does not seem to have hurt the presence at Festivals Acadiens, especially among the younger crowd.

Steve Riley remembers wading through Festivals' crowds and watching bands like Balfa's define Cajun music when most of the crowd represented an older slice of life.

"Now, there are so many younger people who are into the music and are fans of ours and the other bands who play," says Riley. "It's so wonderful to see that. Dewey was always worried about there being a lack of young people's interest in Cajun music, and he would be so happy to see so many people in their teens and early 20s cheering so enthusiastically."

For Ancelet, evidence that the genre is two-stepping and stomping harder than ever, with or without the next star in sight, can be found in the activities of the genre's current stars.

"There are people on the road. That never happened before. There are people playing music full time. That never happened before, much. Some of them become so popular on the road that they are not frequently available to their original constituents. Lots of them have contracted professional management agencies on the East and West coasts. There is now what is commonly known as a festival season."

Although the jury is still deliberating on who will headline Festivals Acadiens 2010, scheduled for Sept. 17-19, we can certainly tell you about a few of today's contenders.



The Lost Bayou Ramblers

"Every 10 years or so, a group of young musicians emerge to bring the deep traditional Cajun music back, and right now it's the Lost Bayou Ramblers, who blaze their fire on the scene," Cecil Doyle, of KRVS 88.7, once beamed of group, together since 1999.

And The Lost Bayou Ramblers are doing just that - blazing away. Recent weeks found them playing to West Coast audiences. Their past conquests include crowded nights in New York's Circle Bar and rave reviews in publications from here to the Big Apple. And just why is that?

If you hear the band, it all becomes pretty obvious. Judging from the way they conjure up the spirits of Cajun music's bygone days and long-lost masters, you'd think LBR plucked a crystal ball from a bayou psychic's yard sale. Their debut disc is a simple, raw and real mix of sound - dominated by accordions and fiddles and a yelping vocal accompaniment by Louis Michot - that could only be recorded at a fishing camp.

LBR formed a year after two members, brothers Andre and Louis Michot, graduated to accordion and fiddle, respectively, after serving 10 years in their father's band, Les Fr*res Michot, in which they played guitar, upright bass and triangle. The band ushered in their fulltime status and their first outside-of-Acadiana performance in September 2002 with a trip to Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Although LBR sticks close to simple sounds of old roots Cajun and Louisiana French swing, they are not afraid to incorporate an outside influence here and there, breaking into a Middle Eastern, belly dance groove on the standard "J'etais au Bal." Possibly the authenticity and experimentation have more to do with their tastes than any motive to keep things pure.

"We let the music speak for itself; we know what we like, and we play what we like to play. ... We just play the music, and if people like it, that's great," says Louis Michot.

"What is today considered 'traditional' Cajun music was originally created by a blending of many cultures and musical styles, so for us it's not a matter of 'purism' or 'traditionalism.' We play it like we learned it, and we don't feel restricted to a certain sound. We connect most with the simple songs, melodies and singin' the blues, in French or English. Plus, we don't want to have to lug around heavy rock and roll equipment."

Next on the rambling road map that has taken them to San Francisco, Colorado, upstate New York is a few spots at the Blue Moon Saloon & Guest House and an international tour slated for next year. Their new album is on Swallow Records - Pilette Breakdown, which includes new material and five re-mastered tracks from Un 'Tit Gout.

"Moi, j'connais pas. We just keep on rambin'," says Michot.



Kevin Naquin & The Ossun Playboys

Kevin Naquin & The Ossun Playboys have a shelf full of Cajun French Music Association Awards. In both 2000 and 2002, their upbeat and updated, fast and glossy - even the watlzes - music earned them Band of the Year, Record of the Year and Accordionist of the Year. In 2000, they also took Best Male Vocalist and Song of the Year.

Asked why Naquin's band is so popular among fans and CFMA members, Leder says it's elemenatry.

"They play traditional Cajun music with high energy and that makes them a very danceable band," says Leder. "The reason Kevin is so well liked, especially by dancers, and why he draws big crowds is because his band is one of the most danceable bands around. When they play, your feet can't help but start moving."

Although it is a more updated sound, with electric guitars, it stays close to the ribs of Cajun music, with few exceptions. The blend is on par with anything played at a festival stage on a South Louisiana weekend.

Naquin, great-grandson of legendary Cajun musicians Edius Naquin and Hadley Fontenot, first picked up the accordion when he was only 13. In a year, he had developed his skill so significantly that he placed second in a junior accordion contest. To develop his own style of music, he looked to Don Montoucet of The Wandering Aces and Steve Riley.



La Bande Feufollet

If you dare to dismiss La Bande Feufollet as a novelty band just because most of them were a few years shy of the driving age when they cut their debut album in 1999, think again. By sticking to their traditional guns, the precocious band grew into a force in the genre, playing standards and originals that could have been standards, mostly with French lyrics.

Although the last six years were about building a reputation - even earning a spot on Festivals Acadiens main stage thrice - and gaining a foothold in Acadiana's Cajun music scene, the last 10 months have been about rebuilding after all but two of its members left.

Chris Segura and Chris Stafford formed the original Feufollet six years ago through friends at school, jam sessions and festivals.

Feufollet's traditional roots were literally bred into them by the family and friends that surrounded them as youngsters. Stafford's mentor: Steve Riley. Maegen Benoit, one of the new members, is the daughter of Lee Benoit.

"We embrace it because it is part of our heritage and it's in our blood, basically," says Segura. With their music, it's a give-and-take effort to keep their sound grounded in tradition, yet fresh with new efforts.

"We do want to keep the music sounding as traditional as possible. As with any band, however, we want to experiment with some other sounds to try to develop our own style and also to try to give our music a unique sound. This experimentation also keeps listeners, I guess you can say, on their toes. If a band releases records that sound exactly alike, or don't experiment during live shows, the band, as well as the audience, will begin to get bored because they are hearing and playing the same thing over and over and over again."

On tap, the traditional fiddle tunes of Dennis McGee, circa 1900s, Cajun swing songs of the 1940s, accordion classics and some songs that rock just a tad, thanks to their guitarists.

If you still aren't convinced of the veracity and validity of their music, heed the words of Dirk Powell, on the liner notes for their sophomore release, Belle Louisiane. "Some would say their music is beyond their years, but the band's message disproves the notion that musical expression had anything to do with the number of years one had been on the planet. Rather than proving that they are somehow an exception to any rule, they seem to raise the bar for all musicians, young or old, in whatever genre."