It was a long, intense trip - six weeks and 9,000 km exploring the roots of American music across the Southeast states. By the end, it had been like following a serpentine music trail and we began to appreciate how the various musical genres were intertwined and cross-influenced. Craig’s fingers got a workout on his guitar, as he jammed and played with the talented musicians from old-time to Zydeco to the Delta blues. We had the time of our lives.

CAJUN & ZYDECO

Music is baked into the Cajun culture of Louisiana. At times, Cajun and Zydeco music protected a culture under siege. The songs tell stories of work, love, life, kids and the all-pervasive hurtin’ heart. We had our radio dial tuned to Bayou 106.7 out of Lafayette, “The Sound of Acadiana.”

Best musical stops: Lafayette (home to Vermilionville, Prejean’s and Randol’s), Saturday mornings at Fred’s Lounge, Savoy Music Center (especially the Saturday morning jam), Liberty Theater in Eunice, any dance hall anywhere

Backstory: The small communities across the bayou and prairie of southern Louisiana were largely isolated – both by harsh geography and language – and music was a way to stay close-knit, enjoy and let off steam. Louisiana is also the home of Creole, Cajun and Zydeco music, brought to the region by displaced French-speaking Acadians (or ‘Cajuns’). The traditions are alive and thriving in bars, dancehalls and dining establishments across the bayou waterways and the Cajun prairie north of Interstate 10.

New Orleans (NOLA) – at the mouth of the Mississippi and the entry point to North America for the Caribbean and South America – acted as a massive engine transforming and exporting music, people and culture in all directions. The city’s whorehouses gave birth to the first known publication of the word “jazz” in an advertisement for the Razzy Jazzy Spasm Band. All the music of the region is eventually drawn to the clubs and dance halls of New Orleans, and Cajun and Zydeco are no exception. But for the authentic Cajun experience, head out from The Big Easy and into the rural bayou and prairie.

Vermilionville – in Lafayette – features a large performance centre where we saw Goldman Thibodeaux and the Lawtell Playboys burn through hours of Creole-inspired dance music. In the middle of a Saturday, these all-ages events are where the elders teach their grandchildren the finer points of waltzing and two stepping. Like Zydeco, Creole music puts the microphone on the inside of the piano accordion whereas Cajun features a mic on the outside of a button accordion. Creole has a lot of blues in it while Zydeco tends to be more uptempo and often in English. Traditional Cajun music is filled with French lyrics.

Next door to Vermilionville, the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park Acadian Cultural Center tells the story of the Acadian expulsion (Le Grand Dérangement) in the 1750s and 60s from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Maine and their resettlement in what became Louisiana. This ethnic cleansing was part of the long rivalry between the imperial British and French and the Cultural Center tells the sad story in detail. Make sure you tour the grounds and get a sense of the Acadians lived experience, talk to the interpreters and enjoy the interaction. We were able to sit down and spend time with an amazing fiddle player who was well into his 90s and still full of energy for his music.

On a Saturday morning at Fred’s Lounge in Mamou (the only day of the week they’re open) the rules are clear: absolutely no standing on the cigarette machine. Fred’s is the real deal. Get there by 9 am for the start of the broadcast on radio 1050AM and find a place to stand before the bleary-eyed crowd moves in and the energy-filled two stepping pushes you ever farther from the band, which is roped off in the middle of the room. Take a tour of the signage, all hand-drawn, have a Caesar or three, but don’t try to keep up with the regulars. The guy on the accordion might be the local chief of police. And don’t stand on the jukebox either.

Savoy Music Center in Eunice – overseen by instrument maker and archivist of Cajun culture, Marc Savoy – is a little sedate compared with Fred’s Lounge. Have a bite to eat or take a chair and indulge yourself in the spirit of sharing music. The Saturday morning jam – into its fifth decade – is a respectful gathering of young and old in which deference for the old timers is the expectation. Savoy himself is a product of the Cajun prairie, taught himself to play accordion as a child and has become one of the most sought-after instrument makers in the world (35-40 per year), when he’s not touring or recording with his family band. Study the collection of Marc’s personal wisdom posted on almost every surface and wall of his workshop and store.

Lafayette – Paul Simon sang: “Well, I’m standing on the corner of Lafayette / State of Louisiana / Wondering where a city boy could go / To get a little conversation / Drink a little red wine / Catch a little bit of those Cajun girls / Dancing to Zydeco.”

Randol’s and Prejean’s – in Lafayette – are where you go to be amazed at the dedication to dancing among these people, some of whom are considerably older than they look on the dance floor. And some are dancing with children considerably younger than themselves. And some are dancing by themselves because – dammit! – they came to dance. One elderly couple we met had been coming to Randol’s for 37 years – kibitzing with friends, dancing with strangers and generally soaking up the joie de vivre. We should all want to spend our golden years with such genuine smiles on our faces.

Liberty Theater/Rendez Vous des Cajuns (Eunice) – not far from the Savoy Music Center – is another venue from which a regular live radio broadcast is done every Saturday evening. The theatre was designed and built before the age of electronic sound reproduction so an ordinary voice from the stage can be heard anywhere in the room and the sightlines are great. People dance – of course they dance! – right up in front of the stage and below the band on the original hardwood floors. For a meager $5 – popcorn is extra – it’s a great way to pass a Saturday evening drinking in the local culture.

Classic artists and tunes:
Paper in My Shoe, Boozoo Chavis
Bon Ton Roula, Clarence Garlow
Les Haricots Sant Pas Salés, Clifton Chenier
It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’, Zydeco Skillet Lickers
Zodico Stomp, Clifton Chenier

It was a long, intense trip - six weeks and 9,000 km exploring the roots of American music across the Southeast states. By the end, it had been like following a serpentine music trail and we began to appreciate how the various musical genres were intertwined and cross-influenced. Craig’s fingers got a workout on his guitar, as he jammed and played with the talented musicians from old-time to Zydeco to the Delta blues. We had the time of our lives.

JAZZ

Two decades ago, the United States Congress designated jazz “a rare and valuable national American treasure.” Indeed, there is no other spot on the continent steeped in the origins and early history of jazz. It’s on every street corner and along every boulevard. In New Orleans, the landscape of jazz isn’t just abstract. It’s real.

Best musical stops: Frenchmen Street jazz clubs, Congo Square, Preservation Hall, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, almost any street or square in the French Quarter for the street performers

Backstory:
Jazz is one of those terms that everyone knows when they hear it but no one can adequately define. It’s a fusion of different influences, notably black slave field songs, African-American gospel, rhythms from the Caribbean and harmonies and melodies from European classical music.

Chronologically jazz is the little brother of the blues as they both sprang from the same cultural, ethnic and geographical womb. The earliest origins of jazz are contested but most historians cite New Orleans as its birthplace. From there it gets really complicated and — for a while — politically interesting as it made inroads into white culture and upset established conventions because of its proclivity for improvisation: i.e., for going beyond the notes authorized by the composer and printed on the sheet music, and its close association with former slaves and their descendants. Even the label — ‘jazz’ — is contentious because of its early association with the bordellos of Storyville in New Orleans.

Today jazz is properly regarded as America’s greatest gift to the world of culture, and jazz artists are among the most revered of all musicians. Names like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis bestride the musical landscape like titans, as indeed they are.

Although jazz took root in many American cities — Kansas City, New York and Chicago to name a few — and acquired its own distinctive qualities in those places, you really need to visit the corner of South Rampart and Perdido Streets in New Orleans where a young Louis Armstrong fired a pistol into the air on New Years’ Eve and got himself incarcerated in the Coloured Waif’s Home where they gave him a cornet (probably Civil War vintage) to occupy his time.

The world of music is a better place for that first cornet at young Armstrong’s lips. Of course he grew up in a veritable stew of music and culture and life in all its forms. And there were lots of great musicians to mentor the young Armstrong on his climb to the top. One of the reasons we revere “Pops” is because he left behind a huge archive of recordings and because he so obviously enjoyed the presentation of his craft — just listen to how often he laughs in his many live recordings — to say nothing of the millions of players who were drawn to the honeypot of jazz by exposure to his musical legacy.

Must-See Jazz Locations in NOLA (*New Orleans, Louisiana)

Any street in the French Quarter is likely to feature a jazz band — usually young but deeply committed devotees of their craft out on the street cutting their chops for coins. You’ll see some wonderful players, singers and dancers in the most unlikely places.

The Court of Two Sisters boasts the French Quarter’s largest courtyard, amply shaded by a 120-year-old wisteria. The brunch buffet is the perfect way to combine tasting all the NOLA classic dishes (from turtle soup and shrimp étouffée to bread pudding and bananas foster) while the notes of a live jazz trio percolates across the courtyard.

Preservation Hall is the iconic setting for traditional New Orleans jazz. The 45-minute show is held nightly at what is probably the oldest largely intact jazz venue in the city. It’s hot and cramped, but the music is as authentic as it gets, played by some of the city’s finest jazz artists. Sit as close as possible for the full jazz experience.

Enjoy the city’s excellent, spontaneous street musicians (and leave a tip in their fiddle cases). You’ll find them on most street corners, but head for Royal Street and Jackson Square where they play in front of St. Louis Cathedral.

Just east of the French Market, the two-block area of Frenchmen Street is where the locals have migrated to hear the strains of authentic jazz. Clubs like Snug Harbor, Blue Nile and The Spotted Cat Music Club host big names like Ellis Marsalis and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins.

Louis Armstrong Park, also the location of Congo Square, is where jazz fans go to gaze at the statute of “Pops” a.k.a. “Satch” a.k.a. “Satchmo” a.k.a. “Dippermouth” a.k.a. “Satchelmouth.” It’s also a great place to catch a “second line” jazz band and follow them around for a couple of tunes. Dance if you dare — or dance if you don’t dare!

New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park is located at the Old U.S. Mint building at the east end of the French Quarter. Climb the steps to the second floor for a display of period photographs and video on jazz in NOLA, with special attention paid to Preservation Hall. You can fawn over Louis Armstrong’s first cornet (considered the “Holy Grail” of jazz history) and Fats Domino’s white grand piano.

Music spills out of various venues along Bourbon Street, but with a lot of debauchery mixed in too. The locals reminisce about the good ol’ days on Bourbon Street – when clubs and restaurants were filled with authentic jazz and ladies and their escorts dressed to the nines for an evening out. We found that 15 minutes in this milieu was quite enough for us. Frenchmen Street is just as hip without the depravity.

Classic artists and tunes:
Jazz Me Blues, Original Dixieland Jazz Band
Take The ‘A’ Train, Duke Ellington
On The Sunny Side Of The Street, Louis Armstrong
Right Place Wrong Time, Dr. John
Beale Street Blues, W.C. Handy

Music is a large magnet on our travels. We’re always in search of museums, authentic venues, musical cities and music trails that show off the very best music of a destination.

We began our RV travels in search of the roots music of the Southeast U.S. - six weeks and 9,000 km (5,600 mi) - where we met some of the nicest, most down-to-earth people you could imagine. For Craig it was jamming time - from old-time to Zydeco to the Delta blues. For Jo it was like cramming a fascinating college course in the roots of American music into six weeks. For Rigby, it was just cool. She’s completely at home on the bandstand.

The map below traces the route we took hopping across the Southeast into the heartland of American roots music. Poke around in the music trails section. We’ve covered a little history and invited you into some of our favourite musical experiences.