Lafayette's Fantastic Festival

In this wrap-up of our time at the Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette (also see earlier entries), we note some of the other performers we heard along with some of the scenes from the Festival.

One of our favorite groups was Suroît from the Magdalene Islands in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. “Everywhere they go, they display the same “suroît” energy as the southwest wind bringing in beautiful weather” (group’s bio).

Two of the group’s members are shown below.

Zachary Richard is a Louisiana singer-songwriter. His “roots are deeply planted in his native Louisiana. Inspired by the various styles of the region, his songs go beyond the limitations of any particular genre and his style is uniquely his own” (personal bio).

Zachary Richard

And then we heard Carol Fran. She made her way to the microphone with the assistance of a cane and a member of her band. And then she began singing.

Her powerful voice belied her 80 years of age, and her style, which Kate called “sassy,” reflected her nearly six decades of performing the swamp blues genre, characterized by slow laid back vocals combined with Cajun and Zydeco rhythmic elements.

She became one of the Bourbon Street club circuit's continuous vocal authorities and has won many awards. She noted that she has been singing the blues so long that it turned her hair blue.

There was something about how this group was positioned on the steps leading to a vacant shop just off the main downtown area that took me back. As I saw the scene, I thought of seeing this in a family album in the 1950s.

We wrap up the Festival’s photos with a few shots of the effect of the wind on one of the days.

And all this is FREE.