Cajun SpotlightCajun and Zydeco Music and Dance in the Upper Midwest May 2003 JJ'S ZYDECO PAYDIRT CD COMINGMark your calendar now for the CD Release Concert and Dance for JJ's Zydeco Paydirt! It will be Saturday, June 7 at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. Between now and then you can catch them at the Half Time Rec in Saint Paul on Sunday, May 4 and at Grand Old Days in Saint Paul on Sunday, June 1 outside MJM Hair at 2:30 in the afternoon.GRANDE PRAIRIE AT TAPESTRY IN MAYGrande Prairie returns to Tapestry Folkdance Center to play for a Cajun dance in the big room there Saturday, May 31. There will be a Cajun dance lesson at 7:30 pm; dancing starts at 8:00 pm.TASTE LOUISIANA CAJUN FESTThe Taste Louisiana Cajun Fest is May 24-26 in Amana, Iowa. The line-up of performers might be the best yet: Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Kevin Naquin & the Ossun Playboys, The Treater Band and Curtis Coubello. For more information you can go to showcase.netins.net/web/cajunfest/index.htmlOLD FAVORITES AT SUMMER EVENTS
CAJUN/ZYDECO DANCE LESSONSMaurine McCort's Cajun and zydeco dance lessons are on hiatus until the fall. You can email her and ask to be notified when the classes start up again. Her email address is maurine@spacestar.com.THE KREWE PRESENTS...
CAJUN CAMPOUT IN VIROQUABob and Philothea Bezin are putting on a Cajun Music Campout and Jam on their farm near Viroqua, Wisconsin over the Fourth of July Weekend. Located on a hilltop with few mosquitos, there's room to camp in open fields or woods. Bob and Philothea provide a Cajun Buffet each evening; other meals are planned on the spot. It's a chance to visit and play with Cajun music fans from around the area. If you would like more information contact CAJUN SPOTLIGHT.CAJUN MUSIC IN MICHIGANSybil and Tally Miller from Sulphur, Louisiana return to the Upper Midwest for some performances over the Memorial Day Weekend. On Friday, May 24 they will be joined by local Cajun musicians to play a set in Marquette, Michigan at Emma Joe's Coffeehouse. The next day, Sunday, May 25, they play as part of the Big Garlic Ramblers at the Thunder Bay Inn in Big Bay, Michigan. It's an afternoon dance starting at 2:00 pm. The Millers will be staying in their mobile home at an area camp site so there will be chances to jam over the weekend as well. For more information call CAJUN SPOTLIGHT or email martinaxe@aol.com.MAY DAY PARADE AND FESTIVALThe annual In the Heart of the Beast May Day Parade and Festival in south Minneapolis is one of those events that make living in the city such a wonderful thing. The parade heads down Bloomington Avenue from 25th Street at 1:00 pm and goes to Powderhorn Park. There several stages are set up for a international potpourri of music. Bayou Hazard play funk and zydeco at 4:00 pm and the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers will do a late afternoon performance. It's a wonderful, affirming event.OSHKOSH SAWDUST DAYSSawdust Days in Oshkosh, Wisconsin are July 2 to July 6. There's a great schedule of performers, including Wisconsin favorites Cajun Strangers and, from Louisiana, Moise and Alida Viator with EH LA-Bas. This last-named groups features a great old-style Creole jazz sound with some hot fiddle playing. A schedule for Sawdust Days can be found on the Web or contact CAJUN SPOTLIGHT.CAJUN/ZYDECO FEVER IN WISCONSINLynn and Tom Stephany continue working to build interest in Cajun and zydeco music and dance in the Oshkosh, Wisconsin area. Dance lessons in Cajun and zydeco dance are offered regularly in Oshkosh and Menasha. Contact CAJUN SPOTLIGHT for details.OTHER APPEARANCES OF NOTEBayou Hazard appear at the May Day Festival in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis on Sunday, May 4. Their set is at 4:00 pm at the Showmobile Stage.On May 31 the Cajun Hot Soles play for a dance at the MBOTMA Homegrown Kickoff at Rancho Manana near Richmond, Wisconsin. FUND APPEAL: CULTURAL PRESERVATIONFriends of Cajun and Creole culture have been asked to donate funds to help restore and preserve a large collection of recordings of Cajun and Creole music and stories. The tapes were moved during renovation to a library at the University of Louisiana and stored in a space subject to the heat of a southern summer. Many recordings actually melted; others are falling apart as preservationists attempt to re-record them. Some of these archives are from the 1930s. Some public funding has been found for working to recover these resources, but not enough to cover all the costs. If you would like more information about donating money to help in this effort, contact CAJUN SPOTLIGHT and we'll send you more information.UPCOMING CAJUN AND ZYDECO EVENTS
FELICE AND BOUDLEAUXWe noted with sadness in April the passing of Felice Bryant at the age of 77 in Nashville, Tennessee. She and her late husband Boudleaux (who died in 1987) were prolific songwriters and they are credited with over 800 recorded tunes. While you may not recognize their names, their tunes for folks like the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Bob Luman and Roy Orbison are classics. They were able to move to Nashville in the late 1940's and support themselves with their songwriting. The quiz this month features songs they wrote and the artists who recorded them. Can you match the song with the performer?
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