41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana's French Cultures
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41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Welcome to the 2020 Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival! Like so many events throughout Louisiana, the Natchitoches- NSU Folk Festival was not able to be held this summer as a face -to-face event due to the ongoing pandemic. Pivoting to a virtual format, the festival is being held exclusively online featuring three components: crafts, music, and a silent crafts auction. Sad- ly, some elements of the festival, such as the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship, are not able to be held in a virtual format, but we look forward to their return in 2021. The virtual crafts marketplace provides opportunities for patrons to encounter the work of genuine folk artists. The crafts of these folk artisans are evidence not only that folklife is alive and well, but that the skills and talents of these artisans honed over a life- time of following tradition leads to the creation of beautiful art. And these crafts make wonderful gifts for a variety of occasions! Pictures of available crafts have been placed on Facebook, with each crafter’s contact information readily available to put buyers in direct contact with the sellers themselves. The marketplace is a public Facebook group named “2020 Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Crafters,” and will run through January 31, 2021. Also on sale in the marketplace is the 2020 Festival t-shirt. Designed by NSU’s Matt DeFord, the t-shirt features a fleur de lis composed of smil- ing alligators. Several crafts persons have also donated some of their favorite creations to be placed in a fully vir- tual silent auction to be held on Facebook from August 17 to September 17, 2020. Bidders can simp- ly provide their name and bid. Winning bidders will be messaged with next steps on how to pay for their item. Many of the music groups that would have played live at the festival have been filmed playing sets at their homes, performing on porches and in backyards, as well as other places significant to the art- ists. The music sets, accompanied by interviews with each of the groups, will be placed on YouTube. These groups include Blake Miller and the Old Fashioned Aces, Cane Mutiny, Hardrick Rivers and the Rivers Revue Band, the LaCour Trio, the Lee Benoit Family Band, the Pine Leaf Boys, 2019 Louisiana State Fiddle Champion Ron Yule, Rusty Metoyer & The Zydeco Krush, Soul Creole, and the Yvette Landry Trio. In addition, Wilson Savoy and Chris Segura of the Pine Leaf Boys have filmed a Cajun fiddle workshop. Many of the musicians have a French heritage, befitting the 2020 festival theme “Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures.” The virtual festival will also include interviews with three traditional Louisiana crafts persons: Cane River Creole John Oswald Colson, a master filé maker; carver Roy Parfait, a member of the Houma Indian tribe; and African American folk artist and memory painter Juanita Leonard. Rather than live streaming the videos, each video will be placed permanently on YouTube on the 2020 Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival channel, which is projected to be completed by October 2020. The 2020 virtual festival will serve as a kind of time capsule of Louisiana folk music, providing a film- ic archive of some of the best musicians in the state as they keep tradition alive. We are grateful to be able to highlight these tradition bearers, who carry on their cultural heritage in such an exemplary manner.
41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Without the support of our many loyal festival patrons and Northwestern State University, we
would not be able to bring you this event. We want to thank C&H Precision Machining, City Bank
and Trust, the City of Natchitoches, Cleco, the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau,
and many others for their generous donations. Having financial support for the Festival has al-
lowed us to focus upon many narrative and folk elements within Louisiana’s culture. Additionally,
the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., Louisiana Division of the Arts – Shreveport Regional
Arts Council, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the National Endow-
ment for the Arts, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, Inc., have each generously
awarded grants to support the Folk Festival. We appreciate the support of these groups more than
words can express.
And don’t forget to come back in 2021 for the theme “Stronger Together: The Power of Folk Tradi-
tion,” which will feature Amanda Shaw & The Cute Guys, the Caddo Culture Club, Ed Huey,
Flashback, Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie, Hardrick Rivers and the Rivers Revue, the
LaCour Trio, Robert Lee “Lil Poochie” Watson and Hezekiah Early, and the return of the Louisiana
State Fiddle Championship. See you next year!
4
41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Table of Contents
In Memory…………………………………………………………………...Page 6
Henry Gray
Hilton T. Lytle
Honorary Festival Chair, Katrice LaCour ….…………….……………… Page 8
Hall of Master Folk Artists………..……………………………………….. Page 8
Katrice LaCour
The Pine Leaf Boys
Noms de Bayou: French Place Names in North Louisiana……………..Page 10
Kelby Ouchley
“Hé toi!” The Challenges of Conveying a Message in Contemporary Cajun and
Creole Music Lyrics…………………………………………………….......Page 12
Marie-Laure Boudreau
Festival Music……………………………………………………………….Page 16
Festival Crafts……………………………………………………………….Page 20
Grantors……………………………………………………………………...Page 25
Contributors…………………………………………….……………………Page 26
Many Thanks………………………………………………….……………..Page 27
Festival Steering Committee
5
41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
In Memory Henry Gray 1925-2020
By Carrie Booher, published on WWOZ,
February 18, 2020. Used by permission.
Blues pianist Henry Gray has passed away at
the age of 95. He is credited with helping create
both the distinctive Chicago blues piano sound
and the Louisiana swamp blues sound.
Gray was born on January 19, 1925. He spent
his early childhood on a farm in Alsen, Louisiana,
where he took piano lessons from a local neigh-
borhood woman starting at the age of eight. He
began playing professionally at 16. His blues ca-
reer was sidetracked when he joined the U.S.
Army in 1943 and was sent to the South Pacific.
He continued playing in the Army, and was dis-
charged in early 1945. In 1946, he returned to
the U.S., landing in Chicago.
It was in Chicago that Gray’s career really took
off. The Chicago blues scene was hopping, and
Gray took a series of small gigs. In 1956, Howlin’
Wolf asked him to join his band. They would per-
form together until 1968. In addition to Wolf,
Gray played as a session man on many Chess
Records releases of the 1950s and 1960s, in-
cluding with Muddy Waters. He also recorded or
toured with Taj Mahal, B.B. King, Jimmy Reed,
Bo Diddley, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Robert
Lockwood, Jr., Lazy Lester, Otis Rush, Buddy
Photo by Michele Goldfarb
Guy, Elmore James, James Cotton, Jimmy
Reed, Koko Taylor, and Guitar Slim.
In 1968, Gray returned to Louisiana to help with his ailing father and the family business. He didn’t put music
aside, though, and his sound became a part of the Louisiana “swamp blues” style as he performed with Slim
Harpo.
Gray was a frequent performer at WWOZ’s annual Piano Night, and he performed at nearly every Jazz Fest
starting in 1974. In 1988, Blind Pig Records released Henry’s first U.S. LP, Lucky Man. In 1998, he received
a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album for A Tribute to Howlin’ Wolf. That same year,
he played at Mick Jagger’s 55th birthday bash in Paris (and alongside Mick, who jumped up for a few songs).
In 1999, he joined Marva Wright and her band for a 30-day Louisiana music European tour produced by Blue
House Records.
Gray’s career remained active into his final years. In 2017, Gray suffered a mild heart attack and a collapsed
lung. A nonagenarian by then, his resolve to continue to play became even stronger, and he was inducted
into the Blues Hall of Fame just two months later and went on to perform at Jazz Fest that May. By the end of
his career, Gray was credited on more than 75 albums.
Henry Gray was a performer at the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival and was inducted into the Hall of Master
Folk Artists in 2012. He will be greatly missed by the blues communities and fans in Louisiana, Chicago, and
worldwide.
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41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
In Memory Hilton T. Lytle 1922-2020
Published in Southern Funeral Homes Obituaries
Permission to use from Melissa Rutledge and
Barbara Cordell.
Hilton was a retired counselor and educator in Tex-
as and Louisiana Public School Systems and he
had 35 years of service.
Hilton was born in Zenoria, La in 1922. He gradu-
ated from Jena High School in 1940 and immedi-
ately enlisted in the Army. He served 5 years in
WWII and received a battlefield commission. He
was awarded two bronze stars and the combat in-
fantry medal. He returned home and attended LSU
on the GI bill. He married Nancy Clegg of Dallas,
TX. who was a Graduate assistant teaching Eng-
lish at LSU to Freshman students in 1946. He
transferred to Texas A&M in 1946 and earned His
Master’s of Science degree in 1950.
Hilton was recalled to military active duty in 1951
and served 16 months in the Korean Conflict. He
was awarded a Congressional Scholarship to Gal-
laudet Washington, D.C. and received his Master’s
of Education Degree in 1954.
Hilton and his beloved wife Nancy, moved to
Winnsboro, LA in 1960, where he was the first counselor at Winnsboro High School. Hill and Nancy
later moved to Monroe, where he served as counselor at Neville High School. He was then appoint-
ed one of the first counselors in the Vo-Tech system. He was named State Counselor of the Year in
1967.
Hilton loved people and was often heard to say "in all my years of teaching, I cannot remember hav-
ing a dull day." In 1970 he developed a hobby of repairing string musical instruments and became
well known as a violin expert. He actively supported the Monroe City and Ouachita Parish String
Programs and the Tensas Parish St. Joseph Concert Orchestra.
He went back to work in 2001 for the Arkansas State Park System at Ozark Folk Center State Park
and worked in the music Instrument shop. In this next phase of his career, he made over 1,000
"fiddles" and gave most of those away. He not only became a master crafter of fine instruments, but
also was well known for repairing damaged instruments. Hilton was inducted into both the Louisiana
Folk Music Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists in July 2018
as one of the most respected builders in the Delta Region. He was very intent on passing down
what he knew to a generation of music lovers.
Hilton was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Nancy, of 54 years. Other surviving family mem-
bers include his brother, James Lloyd Lytle of Springhill, LA and Niease Lytle of Jena, LA, along
with many wonderful nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews.
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41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
2020 Honorary Chair and Hall of Master Folk Artists Inductee
Katrice LaCour
Katrice LaCour, long-time resident of
Natchitoches, Louisiana, is well-known for his
zydeco band The LaCour Trio which plays a
mixture of old school zydeco, Creole La La
music, and R&B zydeco. The band, which al-
so includes Rainey LaCour and Denver
Shoup, plays with the goal of bringing zydeco
music to those who do not get it on a regular
basis and has performed for various charities.
LaCour is committed to reaching his commu-
nity through zydeco and commented
that “Playing locally, we (the LaCour Trio) im-
mediately recognized the need for that zyde-
co sound in the area. We’ve always played
some zydeco music over the years but decid-
ed to make the show around 80% traditional/
current zydeco. This would give us the flexi-
bility to entertain zydeco music lovers and at-
tract those who were unfamiliar with the gen-
re.” Aside from playing professionally, LaCour
shares his love and knowledge of music with
the rising generation and has taught orches-
tra for the past 11 years at the NSU Elemen-
tary/Middle Lab School in Natchitoches. The
program, which currently consists of 97 5th-
8th students, is one of the largest orchestra’s
in the state. Over the years LaCour’s stu-
Photo © Cedric Angeles dents have placed 2nd at a competition at Dis-
ney World in 2014 and 1st in the High School
Division in 2017. In 2019, the orchestra performed in Carnegie Hall in New York City, becoming
one of the first middle schools in Louisiana to do so. LaCour’s passion and dedication to zydeco
music stems from his French/Creole heritage. Observes LaCour, “I was always told ‘know where
you come from sha and know who your people are.’ In everyday life, whether I’m teaching kids or
performing, I always try to incorporate my family heritage and culture into whatever I’m doing.
Every culture is unique and passing that along to others is the best way to keep it alive. Whether
it’s stories shared from generation to generation, or a way of life, that’s what makes French/Creole
traditions worth saving. Therefore, I’ve decided to dedicate a large portion of my life to French/
Creole culture.”
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41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Hall of Master Folk Artists
The Pine Leaf Boys
Photo © https://www.pineleafboys.com/
Louisiana's finest, four-time Grammy-Nominated, world-renowned Pine Leaf Boys have made a
name for presenting their own inimitable brand of Louisiana music with youthful exuberance. Hailing
from southwest Louisiana, the Pine Leaf Boys, known for their wild shows and thoughtful arrange-
ments, have breathed new life into Louisiana music, reviving ancient songs and bringing them to the
bandstand. Being described in the New York Times as, "... the link that connects the young and the
old generations," and, "the best new, energetic, and fun Cajun band in a very long time," the Pine
Leaf Boys play the old fashioned dance hall standards while making a priority to bring many of the
more obscure songs of past masters into their repertoire and play them with gusto.
The Pine Leaf Boys have been invited on six occasions by the U.S. State Department to tour the
world and present true music to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Jerusalem in 2009 and again to Latvia,
Denmark, and Slovenia in 2010 and a third time to the "Stan" countries in 2012 (Uzbek, Tajik, and
Kyrgz). The variety and energy they release evolves through their shows, bringing multi-faceted an-
gles to Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco. Their mission is to present the beautiful, powerful music of their
ancestors and present the real Cajun music to the world and prove that it is still thriving and full of
life. The Pine Leaf Boys have preserved the traditional Cajun sound, while allowing it to breathe and
stretch with those who play it.
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41st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Noms de Bayou: French Place Names in North Louisiana
By Kelby Ouchley
Lest you think French influence on our state is restricted to
the southern half, consider the sinuous streams of north-
east Louisiana. They flow through our geography with
Franco-laden labels both pure and bastardized. And with
good reason. Spaniards were the first Europeans to pass
through this area. They were transient and too busy
searching for gold and incidentally destroying endemic cul-
tures to bother with naming wilderness features. If they did,
they did not stick. Frenchmen were the first to establish a
lasting presence. They were not Acadians. Throughout the
eighteenth century free spirits floated down from central
Canada to trap furbearers and render pots of oil from ole-
aginous bear carcasses. A handful of "pure" French
A sign for Bayou Lafourche marks the eastern boundary of dragged oxcarts up from the Point Coupee region. Most
Ouachita Parish. Photo by Mike Luster. were not interested in settlement much to the chagrin of
colonial authorities who yearned for the stability of domes-
ticated farmers with pedigreed wives and water tight roofs. The Frenchmen were not on the landscape but of it, like the
native women with whom they produced a generation of dark-eyed children. Home was wherever they needed to be to
reap the seasonal harvests. Game for the table was available all year. Wild fruits began with mayhaws and dewberries
and ended with muscadines and hickory nuts. Fishing was best during the spring overflows and later in the summer
when the bayous slowed to wading trickles. Then V-shaped barriers of wooden stakes set across a stream would herd
catfish and buffalo into willow basket traps. Autumn and winter were the times to gather prime pelts from deer, beavers
and otter. Canebrakes were fired to expose bears, and waterfowl borne on Arctic winds were plucked from the cornuco-
pia of natural resources. All of these activities had a common thread. They were on or near waterways. One does not
efficiently transport burdens overland through virgin swamps. As had been the case for thousands of years here, dugout
canoes of red-heart cypress were the conveyance of the day. Frenchmen paddled the eddies and drifted the currents
with thousand pound bundles of furs, with Indian wives and half-breed children, with apprehension of losing these free-
doms. They plied every major stream in northeast Louisiana. They put their names on nearly all of them.
Most names fall in one of two categories: a French surname, or reference to a natural feature associated with the
stream. Surname examples include Bayou D'Arbonne believed to be derived from the common French-Canadian sur-
name "Derbanne." A Gaspard Derbanne was known to be a companion of St. Denis in his early eighteenth century ex-
ploration of the Ouachita Valley. Galion Bayou in Morehouse Parish was named for a prominent hunter/trader in that
area. Chauvin was a surname that yielded Chauvin Bayou and Chauvin Swamp in Ouachita Parish. Bayou Macon
comes from the Maconce family. Others in this category may include Bayou Desiard, Bayou Bartholomew, and
Choudrant Bayou.
The second category is descriptive. Bayou Lafourche is interpreted as "Forked Bayou", Bayou Coulee becomes
"Flowing Bayou", and Bayou de Glaize "Cold Bayou" or "Ice Bayou." Bayou de Butte was named for Indian mounds long
1041st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Noms de Bayou: French Place Names in North Louisiana
long since vanished from its shores. Chemin-A-Haut Bayou translates to "High Road Bayou", a reference to the north/
south Indian trace that once ran along its flood free high bank. Plants and animals are represented also. Cheniere Creek
refers to the adjacent oak forests. Lapine Bayou is "Rabbit Bayou" and Bayou de l'Outre is "Bayou of the Otter." Imagine
bison thundering across the shallows of Boeuf, i.e. "Buffalo River."
Then there are mystery names with veiled hints of an instant of humanity which flowed away with time. What was the
"good idea" of Bayou Bonne Idee? Even the two large streams in northeast Louisiana with native American names, the
Ouachita and Tensas Rivers, likely have French spellings.
Other geographic features have French names (e.g. the Prairies des Canot, Mer Rouge and Chattlerault) but none em-
bellish our maps like bayous, creeks and rivers. When eighteenth century Frenchmen plied these streams they could
not comprehend that, within two hundred years, dams, dredges, and levees would make the water bodies unrecogniza-
ble to them or that relics of their culture would linger with names first spoken from the bow of a pirogue.
This article first appeared in the 1999 Louisiana Folklife Festival booklet. Kelby Ouchley of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service hosts "Bayou Diversity,” a weekly radio feature on public radio station KEDM in Monroe, Louisiana.
1141st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
“Hé toi!”
The Challenges of Conveying a Message in Contemporary Cajun and Creole Music Lyrics
By: Marie-Laure Boudreau
There is no doubt that the Cajun and Creole dance music scene is alive and well in Louisiana. If one wishes to go
dance, he or she is very likely to find a place to do so any night of the week. Young people are still interested in learn-
ing how to play traditional music on the accordion, the fiddle, or the guitar. Yet, learning how to play the accordion
does not mean that one has learned French. As traditional music goes, not every musician can sing Cajun or Creole
folk songs because often the lyrics are in French. In addition, not everyone in the audience can understand traditional
music lyrics.
A living tradition is an ongoing process. Old songs are still played (thus, re-actualized); new songs are written. Most
of the time, the traditional songs are sung in French. Some singers know French very well, some only a little, and oth-
ers merely reproduce the lyrics phonetically. In new songs, there are three linguistic approaches: whereas there are
many written in French, many others are in English – especially in Zydeco, but Cajun bands also play “Cajunized”
Country or Rock’n’Roll songs, or “Swamp Pop” tunes. Other composers write bilingual songs, switching between
French and English.
Content-wise, not all songs have the same level of detail in lyrics in terms of semantic expression. As in other dance
music, rhythmic interjections are sometimes preferred to long narratives. There are typical interjections in French,
especially in Zydeco, such as “Hé toi!” (“Hey you!”), “Fais ‘tension!” (“Watch out!”), “Oh bye-bye!” “Lâchez-les!” (“Turn
‘em loose!”), etc., that act as style identifiers. When there is a narrative, stereotypically, old songs are often about bro-
ken hearts, drinking and “being left behind” (“Tu m’as quitté pour t’en aller…”). Some of the new songs embrace simi-
lar themes, while other newly written songs approach topics such as social, cultural, political issues, and environmen-
tal causes. After all, how much of the audience can understand the content of the songs sung in French? Is under-
standing essential to enjoyment? Why address social issues in lyrics if the message is not conveyed?
This article approaches Cajun and Creole dance music as a form of oral poetry, in the sense that Paul Zumthor de-
fines it,
On peut parler de poésie orale lorsque transmission et réception s’opèrent par la voix et l’ouïe, et donc coïn-
cident en une seule et même action. Cette action est la performance1 (dans le cas d’improvisation, la phase
de production se fond, elle aussi, dans la performance). L’existence d’une performance est le seul élément
définitoire de l’oralité; même si la production et la conservation de l’œuvre requièrent l’usage de l’écriture, le
fait de la performance suffit à en faire pleinement une œuvre orale. (“Oralité” 182)
[One can speak of oral poetry when transmission and reception occur through the voice and the ear, thus
coincide in one and the same action. This action is performance (in the case of improvisation, the production
phase merges in the performance). The existence of performance is the only defining element of orality; even
if production and conservation of the work require the use of writing, the fact of the performance is sufficient
to fully make it an oral work.]2
Zumthor also recognizes, as does Walter Ong (11), that performances recorded through audio-visual means consti-
tute a different kind of “orality,” because the transmission between the voice and the ear is mediated. He thus calls
that form of orality “oralité médiatisée” [mediatized orality] (Poésie 28). Thus, whether in live performance in dance
halls or on recordings, Cajun and Creole music constitutes a form of oral poetry. Zumthor also relates the function of
oral poetry to the “horizon of expectations” of its listeners (“Oralité”191). In this regard, it is safe to say that the prima-
ry (though not exclusive) purpose of traditional Cajun and Creole music is still to dance to it. Consequently, for a num-
ber of people, the rhythmic aspect is more important than the semantics of the lyrics. This also means that the music
itself carries meaning. During interviews conducted for my M.A. thesis research (Boudreau), musicians expressed
different ideas about the language, but most of them stressed that traditional songs have to be sung in French or they
would “make no sense” for various reasons, mostly due to the prosodic and rhythmic characteristics of the French
language. Wilson Savoy, a young Cajun musician, told me he sees French almost as “a musical instrument in itself.”
Cedric Watson, a young Creole musician, told me that “French…. It’s made for Creole music.” Indeed, it could be that
the rhythm and melodies of traditional Cajun and Creole music themselves evoke the French language, involving a
1 Emphasis in original.
2 Translation by author.
1241st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
“Hé toi!”
The Challenges of Conveying a Message in Contemporary Cajun and Creole Music Lyrics
particular type of “anaphone,” a term coined by musicologist Philip Tagg, which he defines as “the use of existing
models in the formation of (meaningful musical) sounds” (487). In other words, an anaphone is to music what an
analogy is to words. The type of anaphone referred to, in this particular case, is labelled a “language identifier” be-
cause it involves “melodic-rhythmic motifs characteristic of the prosody of a particular language” (Tagg 490). As an
example of “language identifier,” Tagg mentions the “Scotch snap… as in coming, going, body, hit it,3 etc.,…as typical
a rhythmic trait of English or Gaelic as it is uncommon in Italian or Spanish, which in their turn feature trisyllabic pat-
terns … that are much rarer in English or Gaelic” (490-91). The link between language prosody and musical rhythm is
thus emphasized. Consequently, singing the same melody using a different language alters the underlying rhythm. If
French is considered “a musical instrument,” as suggested by Wilson Savoy, then singing a translation of a traditional
song in English would be akin, as he puts it, to “playing accordion melodies on the piano.” Also reflecting the lan-
guage as treated “equally” as an instrument is the comparison between the treatment of the voice in a Cajun or Cre-
ole song with a country song. In the latter, the singing tends to be upfront and the accompanying instruments may
only have a two-measure solo, whereas in Cajun and Creole music voice and instrument are each given the same
number of measures in the song. This is characteristic of old songs, but is still true in more recent compositions, such
as Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys’ song “Grand Isle.”
This song is also an example of the lyrics conveying various degrees of semantic content. The lyrics are very poetic,
and David Greely, the singer, uses metaphorical language to talk about an environmental issue: the BP oil spill. Of
course, if one does not understand French they will not necessarily know this unless they ask someone or read a
translation, but does that prevent the song from carrying any meaning at all? Wilson Savoy explains in an interview
that the emotion carried through singing is enough to convey meaning (through that emotion) to the public, even if
they do not understand the words. He stresses, however, that to be effective, it is crucial for the singer to understand
the meaning of the lyrics: “The singer’s got to feel what he’s singing about…I think a good singer can get up there
and sing in a language that nobody understands and the people will be moved by it, just because, even though they
don’t understand the language, they can understand the emotion.” As Paul Zumthor expresses:
La voix déborde la parole. La plupart du temps, la voix sert à transmettre linguistiquement un message. Mais
sa fonction ne se limite pas à cet office...Les émotions les plus intenses suscitent chez l’homme le son de la
voix, indépendamment de tout langage: cri de bonheur, cri de guerre, effroi devant la mort subite, cris des
enfants dans leurs jeux, comme autant d’échos du cri natal. Même effet, dans l’art du chant, qui souvent
s’évade en pures vocalises. (“Oralité” 172)
[Voice exceeds speech. Most of the time, voice serves the purpose of linguistically transmitting a message.
But its function is not limited to that purpose…The most intense emotions arouse in humans the sound of
voice, independently from any language: shouts of joy, battle cry, terror before sudden death, cries of chil-
dren playing…all echoes of primal scream. Even so in the art of singing, which often escapes in pure vocali-
zations.]
Indeed, in some styles of music, like opera or hard rock, the words become almost inaudible due to the style of sing-
ing. In these cases, understanding the language does not guarantee the understanding of the lyrics. The singer and
poet Zachary Richard, invited to speak to a music class at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, reflected that Ca-
jun music could be interesting to an international audience because it could be seen as a kind of “World music,” using
an example of African music that he was touched by even when he did not understand the lyrics. He could appreciate
the “sound landscape.” According to Richard, “that’s how Cajun music gets over for an American audience.” Indeed,
many people from across the globe are interested in Cajun and Creole music. Of course, music is more than its sole
lyrical content, and because Cajun and Creole music is still very much tied to a cultural context in Louisiana, I would
not go as far as to suggest that it is becoming a form of “World music” in its own land. But singing in French may be-
come more challenging due to the loss of the French language as a first language to the majority of the population in
Louisiana. There is a French revival among young Louisianans, partly owing to the implementation of French immer-
sion schools, but we don’t know yet the impact of this on the larger audience for Cajun and Creole music.
However, if the singer wants to express the emotion he or she feels in that language, then I believe that continuing to
sing in French has a raison d’être, since the emotion will likely be perceived by listeners. It is also worth mentioning
that other Francophones around the world are a potential audience, thanks in part to the “mediatized orality” that al-
lows the music to travel.
3 Emphasis in original.
1341st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
“Hé toi!”
The Challenges of Conveying a Message in Contemporary Cajun and Creole Music Lyrics
Furthermore, a strategy employed by some singers to compensate for the decrease in French fluency in Louisiana is
to use both French and English in song lyrics. Horace Trahan exemplifies this trend. Aware that a lot of young people
do not understand French, he chooses to interweave both languages poetically, as he explains in an interview (in a
bilingual fashion!):
Comme “Keep your head up” “Garde ta tête en l’air”... Mo j’dis le même chose en anglais... et en français,
pareil like a translation. My wife and I wrote all the songs together, I try to put the French in there. Mets le
français en-dedans, comme ça, quand j’ai dit les jeunes, si eusse parlent pas le français, peut-être ils vou-
laient apprendre à parler français... 4
Trahan believes than writing bilingual songs may spark an interest in learning French among young people. That po-
tential also exists for music sung only in French: it has the opportunity to draw in new speakers. Music has a power
to stimulate interest in a language that an academic classroom textbook may not have. If there is a future for French
language in Louisiana, it needs to be tied with cultural expressions to blossom; it has to mean more than a language
for itself, because the use of French in the United States, or even as an “international” language, does not pragmati-
cally rival the English language today (or even the Spanish language for that matter). If most of the world’s population
is attracted in learning the English language, it has much to do with the widespread mainstream American culture or
its idealization. But there is room outside the mainstream for the promotion of other languages. However, the key is
to link the language with a cultural object or trend. For example, many manga (Japanese comics) readers develop an
interest in learning Japanese. While music and dancing are strong components of Cajun and Creole culture today,
understanding of the meaning and poetics of Cajun and Creole lyrics seems to be a concern expressed by songwrit-
ers themselves, as in “Danser sans Comprendre” written by Jean Arceneaux and Steve Riley and interpreted by Ste-
ve Riley and the Mamou Playboys:
Comment ça se fait/ T’es après chanter, bébé/
In a language you don’t understand/
T’es après danser et t’amuser, jolie/
While my words just echo across the land.
What’s at stake? What’s it take/
C’est pas assez / Danser sans comprendre.
Tout le temps en anglais/ Jamais en français/
Can’t understand the boys in the band/
Qui c’est toi t’es/ Quoi c’est tu fais, jolie/
Yeah you, just try to understand.
It is hard enough to “sing along” to Cajun or Creole dance music if you don’t comprehend French lyrics. But then
again, it’s already hard to sing at the same time one is two-stepping!
4
Like “Keep your head up” (song). I say the same thing in English…and in French the same. Like a translation. […] Put the
French in there, and like that, when I said that the young people, if they do not speak French, maybe they would want to learn
how to speak French. (Translation by author).
1441st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
“Hé toi!”
The Challenges of Conveying a Message in Contemporary Cajun and Creole Music Lyrics
Works Cited
Boudreau, Marie-Laure. “Chanter en Français en Louisiane: Du Passé Vers le Futur.” MA thesis. U of Louisiana at
Lafayette, 2014. Print.
Ong, Walter J. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. London: Methuen, 1982. Print.
Richard, Zachary. “Music 360 - Cajun and Zydeco Music.” U of Louisiana at Lafayette. 28 March 2013. Lecture. Audio
file.
Riley, Steve, and the Mamou Playboys. “Danser Sans Comprendre.” Grand Isle. Valcour, 2010. CD.
---. “Grande Isle.” Grand Isle. Valcour, 2010. CD.
Savoy, Wilson. Personal Interview. 20 March 2014. Audio file.
Tagg, Philip. Music’s Meanings: A Modern Musicology for Non-musos. New York: The Mass Media Music Scholars’ P,
2013. Print.
Trahan, Horace. Personal Interview. 5 April 2014. Audio file.
Watson, Cedric. Personal Interview. 15 April 2014. Audio file.
Zumthor, Paul. Introduction à la Poésie Orale. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1983. Print.
---. “Oralité.” Intermédialités 12 (Fall 2008): 169-199. Print.
1541st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Festival Music
The LaCour Trio
The LaCour Trio is an exciting interactive group providing big band sound
with only three members. The group takes you on a musical journey cover-
ing Zydeco, Soul, Country, Rock and Roll and Top 40 Dance. The LaCour
Trio brings the listener the very best in ON- and OFF-STAGE entertain-
ment. The LaCour Trio shared the stage with artist like Phyliss Hyman,
Rocking Dopsie, Chubby Carrier, Major Handy, Carlie Daniels, Louisiana
Leroux and performed in many venues and locations including five years
for Royal Caribbean Cruise lines ( Miami, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Hawaii,
Alaska, Virgin Islands, Belize, Acapulco, San Diego, Los Angeles, St,
Thomas, St Martin, U.S. Virgin Islands, Seattle, Vancouver B.C. and many
more) The band also performed U.S.O. Shows for military troops for five
years in South Korea.
Photo © Cedric Angeles
Left to Right: Latrice LaCour, Rainey
LaCour, and Denver Shoup
The Pine Leaf Boys
The Pine Leaf Boys are an authentic Cajun and Creole band
from southwest Louisiana. Four of their albums have been
nominated for Grammy awards in the category for Best Zyde-
co or Cajun Music Album. Described in the New York Times
as, “… the link that connects the young and the old genera-
tions,” and, “the best new, energetic, and fun Cajun band in a
very long time,” the Pine Leaf Boys play old fashioned dance
hall standards while making a priority to bring many of the
more obscure songs of past masters into their repertoire and
play them with gusto. Their mission is to prove to the world
that Cajun music is still vibrant and full of life while also bring-
ing a new spark to it. Photo © pineleafboys.com/
Hardrick Rivers and the Rivers Revue Band
At the age of 13, Hardrick Rivers began learning from a legend of Loui-
siana music: Overton “Dr. Drip Drop” Owens. Rivers quickly joined
Overton’s new group, Overton Owens and the Mustangs which was
formed during the late 1960s. Rivers worked hard during those early
years to find his unique sound on the saxophone. After playing with
several bands through the years, Rivers formed his own group in 1994,
the Rivers Revue Band. Hardrick Rivers was inducted into the Louisi-
ana Folklife Center’s Hall of Master Folk Artists in 2001. During the
Summer of 2003, Rivers, along with the B. B. Major Blues Band, toured
Italy playing at numerous blues events. Rivers is an annual headline
performer at the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival and performs
throughout north and central Louisiana. He is a former band director at
Red River High School in Coushatta. In 2017 he was recognized by the
Lt. Governor of Louisiana and the Louisiana Folklife Commission as a
Louisiana Tradition Bearer. Constantly practicing and honing their style,
the Rivers Revue remains one of the premier bands in the
Natchitoches area after more than 20 years.
1641st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Festival Music
Goldman Thibodeaux and the Lawtell Playboys
Goldman Thibodeaux is a French Creole or “La La” musician of the
highest caliber. Thibodeaux and the Lawtell Playboys have continued
to evolve since their beginning in 1946 while still maintaining the roots
of the original form. The band has played at many festivals such as the
Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival, and the New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Festival, as well as the Liberty Theater in Eunice and the
Cane River Creole National Historical Park. In 2012 Thibodeaux was
inducted into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists.
In 2014 Thibodeaux received the Folklife Heritage Award from the
Louisiana Office of Cultural Development.
Goldman Thibodeaux
Cane Mutiny
Cane Mutiny is a musical collective based in Natchitoches,
Louisiana centered around the musical influences of multi-
instrumentalists John Litzenberg and Ed Huey, and featuring
guitarist Donnie Hyams and drummer Sammy Nix. Playing a
variety of Louisiana and Americana music (that is to say,
everything from swamp pop to funk to soul, country, blues, R & B
and rock), Cane Mutiny combines a deep connection to the
history of popular music with the energy of a New Orleans
second line, showcasing original and other music from
throughout the 20th century and beyond. Fixtures on the
Natchitoches music scene, the four musicians Ed (harmonica,
vocals and percussion), Sammy (drums), Donnie (guitar and
vocals) and John (bass and vocals) have played together in
various local bands for years, and as separate artists, through-
out the United States and abroad.
Soul Creole
Soul Creole brings a modern voice to Louisiana traditions.
While singing and improvising in French and English, the
band melds Creole, Zydeco, and Cajun music with popular
influences in a musical opacity that keeps audiences of all
genres satisfied. The three members of Soul Creole bring
uniquely authentic and fresh perspectives on a music that
continues to evolve. Soul Creole was formed in 2012 by Ash-
lee Wilson Michot on t-fer, Grammy nominee Corey Ledet on
accordion, and Grammy Award winner Louis Michot on fiddle.
All three musicians take lead vocals, harmony, and are al-
ways backed by some of the top bass and drum in Louisiana
music. Soul Creole is a crossroads for the diverse cultures
and music celebrated in South Louisiana.
Photo © Zach Smith
1741st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Festival Music
Blake Miller and the Old Fashiones Aces
Lafayette group Blake Miller & the Old Fashioned Aces
are a traditional Cajun band. The band is led by Cajun
fiddler, accordionist, and vocalist Blake Miller, who is a
veteran of notable Cajun bands The Pine Leaf Boys and
the Red Stick Ramblers. Miller has been nominated for a
Grammy twice, once as a member of The Pine Leaf Boys,
and again as a member of his other current band, The
Revelers. He’s played numerous venues nationally and
internationally. The band also includes guitarist Amelia
Biere on fiddle and vocals and A.J. Srubas on fiddle and
pedal steel guitar. Miller and Biere sing in both English
and Cajun French. The band’s debut album, Quelle Belle
Journée, was nominated for Offbeat Magazine’s 2018
Best Cajun Album of the Year. Photo © Colin Gould
Lee Benoit Family Band
Lee Benoit has been playing Cajun mu-
sic for 30 years, and performs with his
wife Valerie Benoit on bass, daughter
Maegan Benoit on drums and vocals,
and daughter Rosemary Benoit on fid-
dle. The Benoits play both traditional
Photo © David Simpson, cajunzydecophotos Photo © Sylvester and original songs in both English and
Popescu-Willigmann Cajun French. Lee Benoit has won
many awards from the Cajun French
Music Association, including Accordionist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year
(twice), as well as the President’s Award, the Award of Excellence, and the Heritage Award for out-
standing contributions and dedication to the preservation of Cajun culture. He was inducted into the Ca-
jun Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
Rusty Metoyer and the Zydeco Krush
Rusty Metoyer and The Zydeco Krush is a young, ener-
getic Zydeco band from Lake Charles, LA. Their range
extends from traditional Creole French songs to nou-
veau Zydeco music. Rusty Metoyer and The Zydeco
Krush were selected to the 2013-2015 Louisiana Musi-
cians Roster, through the Louisiana Division of Arts, De-
partment of Cultural Development. They were the recipi-
ents of the “Best New Artist Award” at the 5th Zydeco
Music and Creole Heritage Awards Ceremony in 2017,
and the “Lasting Impression Award” from the Lake
Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bu-
reau at the 2016 National Tourism Week Awards Cere-
Photo courtesy of New Orleans Photo by Eugene Rogers
mony. Jazz and Heritage Festival
1841st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Festival Music
Ron Yule
Ron Yule was born in 1943 in Missouri and began playing the fiddle in
1968 while a student at the University of Texas, where he received a B.S.
in microbiology. He received his M.S. in microbiology from McNeese State
University in 1974 and worked as a health inspector for the State of Louisi-
ana, retiring in 1999. In 1973, Ron began producing fiddle contests and
promoting bluegrass shows throughout Louisiana and southeast Texas. He
and his wife Georgia produced the first bluegrass/fiddle club and newslet-
ter in the state of Louisiana, the Southwest Louisiana Fiddler and Blue-
grass Club, from 1974 to 1976. Ron continues promoting several blue-
grass shows each year, including the Beauregard Parish Fair Fiddle Con-
test, an event that has been viable since 1925. After retiring, Ron began
amassing all the data and pictures he had collected over the previous 30
years and started a written documentation of fiddling, bluegrass, Cajun,
and country music in Louisiana with a focus on southwest Louisiana. Also,
Ron's large collection of home tapes is the focus of a future project -- mak-
ing these fiddlers come alive on audio. Ron continues to do what he loves
best, "... play music with bluegrass, country, and Cajun friends at jam ses-
sions, festivals, nursing homes and anywhere they'll allow the noise.”
Photo by Peter Jones
Yvette Landry
Yvette Landry grew up in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana in and around the
swamplands. It was here where she learned an appreciation for the music,
dance, stories and language of her Cajun culture. After earning a master’s
degree in education and developing a successful teaching career, she began
telling stories through song. Playing a variety of instruments in several Cajun
bands, Landry also fronts her own band, The Yvette Landry Band. Her debut
award-winning album titled “Should Have Known” was released in 2010 and
was named Offbeat Magazine’s “Best Country/Folk Album” and Landry “Best
Country/Folk Artist.” Landry has traveled the world and played countless cul-
tural festivals and venues – from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
to the Bluebird Café in Nashville. She toured Russia and served as a Cultural
Ambassador on behalf of the Library of Congress to perform at the Festival of
Traditional American Music and graced the stage at both the Library of Con-
gress and John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Landry is an educator, teaching American Sign Language and Song Writing
at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is also a private homeschool
teacher and has also taught bass, guitar, accordion and vocals at notable
camps. State of Louisiana 2013 and 2019 Music Ambassador, Governor to
the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy, former Director of Louisi-
ana Folk Roots Summer Cajun & Creole Music Kids Camp, and recently in-
ducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Landry strives to bring cultures
and traditions together, ensuring that they will be passed along. Since her
debut album in 2010, Landry has released four more CDs and
was nominated for Offbeat Magazine’s “Best of the Beat Awards” in two cate-
gories (Best Roots Rock Artist and Best Roots Rock Album). Her first chil-
dren’s book, The Ghost Tree, was nominated for Louisiana’s Young Reader’s
Photo courtesy of Yvette Landry from Choice Award. Her second, Madame Grand Doigt, along with The Ghost
https://yvettelandry.com/about-yvette/
Tree, were formally accepted into the Library of Congress Collection for Chil-
dren’s Literature.
1941st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Festival Crafts Festival Crafts Festival Crafts
Larry Jorgensen
Larry is a journalist with extensive experience in print
(weekly, daily, and magazines), radio and television news
(both writing and on-air) wire service, assignment, and
freelance. He was also a publisher/editor for a monthly
publication. Currently, Larry researches and writes history
related articles and books while also providing media ser-
vices for clients. Larry’s home office is nestled along a
bayou in Louisiana. He has written two books which in-
clude chapters about locations in Louisiana and other
southern states: Hot Wells, A Louisiana Ghost and The
Coca-Cola Trail. He donated a copy of both books to ap-
pear in the Facebook Silent Auction. Find more information
about Larry and his books at https://
www.thecocacolatrail.com/about
Rita Ford
Rita Ford was born in the USSR in 1962. She is a garden designer and a bo-
tanic materials artist. In other words, she is a pressed plant artist. She is cur-
rently a resident of Louisiana. She has had personal art shows in Shreveport,
Lake Charles, and a guest show in Natchitoches. She is a member of the World
Wide Pressed Flower Guild. Her pressed plants art has received several prizes
across the United States and even internationally in Gurye, South Korea; To-
kyo, Japan; and Russia. Rita describes her work by saying, “In my opinion,
people never can draw better than Mother Nature. I think every leaf, every flow-
er is already art & I as a floral artist need only to behold & manage to show this
beauty to people.” You can find most of Rita’s work on her website: https://
www.creativitybyritaford.com/about and for personal inquiries, her email is
sales@creativitybyritaford.com
Stephanie Madere Escudé
Stephanie Madere Escudé, a fiber artist and member of the Tunica-Biloxi
tribe, said in an artist statement that she draws inspiration from her works
from her native ancestors. "Many of the ideas for my creations come to me
in dreams,” she wrote. “My grandmother would always encourage us to
make things by hand. My creations have gone out to many people all over
the world and have made the youngest and the oldest very happy.” While
allowing tribal artists a means to sell their wares, craft days and festivals
also allow tribes a chance to share and preserve their cultures. For more
information, visit her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
NativeDollsByStephanieMEscude/
2041st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Festival Crafts Festival Crafts Festival Crafts
Danny Petrella
Danny Petrella has been involved in Louisiana Native arts for over forty years.
His favorite is cow hide work recovering antique Louisiana made chairs, espe-
cially family chairs. He loves to recover old family chairs and watch the owner
sit in it. That smile on their face gives him great pleasure. He has been involved
in hide work over forty years but began offering his service to the public just
over three years ago. He also makes drums, blowguns, and basketry. Most
anything native including making gumbo filé and using native plants and trees
for traditional Medicine. He is a descendant of the Mamou Choctaw band that
lived west of Mamou. Things like this were generally kept out of the public view,
but their artisans are dying off and it's time to teach the young. He also started
a Facebook page called Mamou Choctaw. He is “a teacher hoping a young per-
son would like to learn.” For more information, visit his Facebook page: https://
www.facebook.com/mamouchoctaw/
.
Cindy Fuqua
Trained in classical ballet my art consists of lines in space. As a
dancer and a choreographer, I create movement for others and
myself that consist of line, flow, form, and technique. The
discipline of dance transfers well into clay. Throwing pots
becomes a dance that creates beauty with form, flow, technique,
and technical ability. I strive to create beauty with a fluidity of
movement, and form, soft classical lines, with a bit of whimsy
stirred in to represent the fun of life. My pottery is imbued with a
positive life energy that charges its surroundings. I receive a
reward not only from the creation process but also from my
customers who come back often, to tell me how much owning my
pots have brightened their lives. View Fuqua’s pieces on her Fa-
cebook page: facebook.com/cindythepotter
Catherine Rouchon
In 2005 at the age of sixteen Catherine started making and selling beaded jewelry
at her local farmers market. It soon became a business and paid for her schooling
to become a graduate gemologist. Now as a silversmith and lapidarist she crafts
one of a kind jewelry. Many pieces incorporate a stone she has mined herself.
She expresses her art in the silver work, making many of the pieces reversible,
creating detailed designs with the silver. Visit her Facebook page for more infor-
mation: https://www.facebook.com/Compass-Rose-Jewelry-Designs-by-Catherine
-Rouchon-148851091807670/
Catherine Rouchon with Compass Rose Jewelry Designs
2141st Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival Celebrating Louisiana’s French Cultures
Festival Crafts Festival Crafts Festival Crafts
Stan Routh
From an architectural background that includes a masters' degree in history and
design, a European travel and study fellowship, and his own professional practice
since 1962, Stan Routh has devoted his life to visual recordings of the things we all
remember. Country stores, little churches, old homesteads, mills, bridges, barns,
and other architectural structures, which first catch his eye and then his heart, are
faithfully rendered in ink, pencil, or watercolor to capture their essence in a literal
"explosion" of pertinent detail. Stan Routh specializes in drawings of historical land-
marks, original paintings, sketches, and watercolors of cities and towns throughout
Louisiana and surrounding states.
Emily Garrett
I am a 73 year old grandmother of eight grandchildren who loves to crochet. My aunt taught
me to crochet when I was 12 years old and I have been doing it ever since - over 61 years. I
also enjoy knitting, cross-stitch and stitching on plastic canvas. Some of the items I crochet
are baby items, toys, scarves, kitchen items, keychains, hair scrunchies, and rag strip rugs.
I've taught my granddaughters as well as others to crochet. My husband Larry and I love to
travel to arts and crafts fairs and usually do as many as 10 a year in Louisiana, Texas, and
Oklahoma. My other hobbies include crossword puzzles and reading mystery novels.
Larry Garrett
Larry Garrett has always been able to make things from wood, so much that it
seemed to be an inherited trait. Garrett taught himself how to make spoons
because he broke his wife's coffee scoop and decided he could make her a
better replacement, using the same carving tools he purchased while he was
still in school. Her family was impressed when they saw the result and asked
for one. Garrett then decided to venture out and try regular cooking spoons
and, after that, creating serving spoons. With lots of practice, Garrett had
gotten use to his new craft. All of the spoons are hand crafted. Garrett has
been making spoons for 5-6 years.
Cynthia Hernandez
Cynthia Hernandez makes homemade lye soap, as well as bath bombs, bath salts, and
sugar scrubs. Most natural homemade soaps are lye soaps, which are made out of acid
properties and a base. This makes a soothing natural soap that cleanses gently. Her-
nandez’s lye soap is truly elegant and comes in an abundance of scents such as laven-
der, and red rose. Hernandez also creates fun experiences with her glitter bath bombs.
For more information about Cindy Lou’s True Soap, visit her on Facebook: https://
www.facebook.com/cindyloustruesoap/ and her website: http://
www.cindyloustruesoap.com.
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