Click here to read about his contributions.

Joel fraternizes with Weird Al

Joel Savoy took off for Los Angeles last Friday to represent Valcour at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY awards. After nearly an entire day of airport delays, he settled in at the Figueroa Hotel in downtown LA late Friday night and began the celebration with a glass of cognac at the hotel bar with nominees Ann Savoy (mom) and Jane Vidrine. Joel had two CDs he produced/co-produced nominated for GRAMMY awards this year: Valcour’s L’esprit Creole (Cedric Watson) and Arhoolie Records’ Stripped Down (Magnolia Sisters). This was his third trip to the GRAMMYs, but the development of the Cajun/Zydeco Category brought new hope for taking home the gold! Though defeated by the legendary Buckwheat Zydeco, it was a fantastic trip where he got to socialize with the who’s who of the music industry and spread the word about Valcour Records. After a weekend of non-stop parties, endless drink and food and celebrating, he came home Monday feeling inspired by what he had seen, and proposed these 10 thoughts for the new year:

1. How could they forget to turn on Gabe Witcher’s fiddle mic for the pre-telecast GRAMMYs?! What a shame!

2. It’s nice to have the Cajun/Zydeco category. I’ve finally come around to the idea, and I think it has potential to raise the bar for our local artists. However, at all of the Louisiana parties, all anyone talked about was New Orleans. Who is running this shit? Pop quiz: Does Cajun/Zydeco music come from NOLA? If you answered yes, please mail a check for $100 to 872 Highway 758, Eunice.

3. WTF? Every single performance at the GRAMMYs was overdone. That’s not even the right word. Every performance was so over-the-top I wanted to cry. Don’t get me wrong, it’s AMAZING being there right in the midst of al that action and production and everything, but is this where pop culture is headed? Everything is so overdone there isn’t a hint of emotion or connection. There is no exchange between the audience and the performers. Everyone is just sitting around in shock and then when it’s over, they’re asking themselves what just happened. A good show is one thing, and lights, FX and dancers- all that’s cool. But it was all just way too intense. I hope you out there reading this understand what I mean. Can we fix that before it’s too late?

4. Taylor Swift is cute and all, but Album of the Year? Really? Has anyone heard that album? It leads one to wonder what the GRAMMY award actually means.

5. I decided that Weird Al was the only celebrity I ever wanted my picture taken with. Done.

6. Imogen Heap is awesome.

7. Lucent Dossier, the magical troupe that performed all night at the GRAMMY afterparty, is awesome. It was the highlight of my whole trip. After the Weird Al pic.

Joel w/ Anya from the Magnolia Sisters

8. Did y’all know that Cedric’s drummer, Jermaine Prejean, actually opened up the entire GRAMMYs? Right before it went on TV, Jermaine on snare drum, Trombone Shorty, and Shamarr Allen on trumpet (and someone else- sorry I forgot) stood on the little circular stage right in the middle of all the celebrities and played ‘when the saints go marching in’ acoustic and standing up. It was awesome!

9. Does 3D really work in a live setting? It wasn’t doing it for me…

10. Game on. Let’s see some amazing new records come out this year, Louisiana. Go get those GRAMMYs!

Stay tuned for more as we move into the Mardi Gras season!

But see for yourself in our February 2010 Artist of the Month Feature…

February Artist of the Month: Generationals

GIVERS on All Songs Considered

GIVERS on the Oxford American site

Daytrotter site (this link will become more useful after February 9th, but they have a fantastic collection of recordings that you can enjoy at any time!)

GIVERS tour dates on Myspace

Photo courtesy of Piotr Redlinski, The New York Times

Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole’s recent performance at Globalfest in Manhattan has not gone unnoticed. Johnn Pareles at The New York Times says Cedric “reconfigures new and old Cajun music with guts and smarts” and NPR decided to feature Cedric and the band as stand out artists on All Songs Considered. Cedric’s rigorous touring schedule and his second GRAMMY nomination are paying off in the form of exposure and media coverage. We expect this trend to continue as his album is now officially nationally released and airplay and promotions have ramped up.

Read the New York Times review here

Listen to the live performance from All Songs Considered here

And if you haven’t caught the Music Voyager webisode featuring Cedric, watch it here

Check out the article, or at least watch this video of the boucherie by Gloria Maso:

Music Voyager host Jacob Edgar will profile five GRAMMY® Nominated Artists

The Music Voyager TV series gives viewers a backstage pass to the most popular and fascinating music from around the world.

DECEMBER 28, 2009 – Music Voyager, a new public television TV series that gives viewers a backstage pass to the most popular and fascinating music from around the world, announced that the second artist profiled in its ROAD TO A GRAMMY® special is Cedric Watson, the breakout Créole Cowboy out of Lafayette. Tomorrow night (December 29), Music Voyager will profile and film Cedric along with his band, Bijou Créole, at a live performance at Lafayette’s Blue Moon Saloon.

The Road to a GRAMMY special aims to tear down the wall between artists and fans, expanding beyond the traditional avenues of hearing the work that the artists have been nominated for and seeing their acceptance speeches. The special gives fans a more personal experience by showing them the road that has brought the artist to their GRAMMY nomination(s).

In the build up to the star-studded GRAMMY awards ceremony on January 31, 2010, Music Voyager host Jacob Edgar will travel across the US and beyond to visit five nominees for the 52nd GRAMMY Awards and invite them to give viewers an exclusive look at their personal background and inspirations.

The series is distributed in the U.S. through American Public Television, to PBS stations across the country, and internationally on various broadcast partners.

Visit the Music Voyager website

Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole

For the second year in a row, a Cedric Watson album on Valcour Records has been nominated for the Cajun and Zydeco category of the GRAMMYs.

L’ésprit Créole, now shipping from our CD Store, and to be officially released worldwide in the coming weeks, garnered enough votes to rise to the upper eschelon of Louisiana music.

Congratulations to Cedric, the band, and all the nominees!

Also receiving nominations:

• Alligator Purse
  Beausoleil Avec Michael Doucet
  [Yep Roc Records]
• Lay Your Burden Down
  Buckwheat Zydeco
  [Alligator]
• Stripped Down
  The Magnolia Sisters
  [Arhoolie Records]
• Live At 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
  Pine Leaf Boys
  [MunckMix, Inc.]

Learn about Kristi and visit the Spectator in our November Artist of the Month feature!

Kristi Guillory and the Cajun and Creole Music Spectator

Listen for yourself via our October Artist of the Month feature.

GIVERS just released their new EP with Valcour Records

Now Shipping!

A new band has made its way into the Valcour mix. They aren’t Cajun, they aren’t zydeco, they aren’t old time. GIVERS are are pure fun. At times poppy, at times psychadelic, their music incites and demands roars of applause from the packed bars and nightclubs they play around Louisiana.

GIVERS consists of several musicians from various improvisational groups all centered in southwestern Louisiana who have combined to form one cohesive music making body, creating what they refer to as afro-beat, dancy pants, indie pop love music.

GIVERS specialize in sounds that gather together melodically and electronically bent forms of african, folk, and pop music, but send them underwater, where they are refracted with light and space, changing the overall shape and texture into something refreshingly new, yet at the same time, familiar. All natives of southern Louisiana, the members were brought up in a music scene steeped rich in culture, whether it be the Cajun or zydeco roots of their hometown, Lafayette, or the funky, dance inducing second line from neighboring New Orleans. Despite the abundance of traditional music surrounding the band, GIVERS have managed to harness a sound of their own, breaking free of tradition, all the while maintaining an honesty in their music which keeps listeners on edge.

At a GIVERS show, one can expect to experience a barrage of colors, both within the music as well as within the visual aesthetic. The chemistry between band members alongside their vibrant light show creates a lucid dream-like atmosphere anywhere GIVERS play, leaving the crowd with no choice but to become a part of what is happening. To be in this experience is to, for a moment, accept the feeling of ascendance, not submergence–to give in to one’s vulnerability as set by the music making examples on stage–to let go and truly release.

Despite being a very young band, GIVERS have established themselves in their regional scene by filling venues and reaching multiple maximum capacity limits within their first few shows. They have supported such acts as Dirty Projectors, Casper & the Cookies, Everthus the Deadbeats and MyNameIsJohnMichael.

“Try as you might to disappear into darkness or slumber, Givers will pull you toward the surface, the music revives your limbs, their energy and humor revive your mind. They are familiar, not trite. They are nourishing, not sugary.”
- Pop Matters Magazine

“Rarely-to-never have I witnessed a musical group with so brief a history blossom and acquire such a sense of innovative musical maturity as GIVERS. Combining intricately lofty vocals over some of the most danceable yet innovative beds of seemingly ever-evolving rhythms, this young outfit already comes off as some sort of new hope for tomorrow’s popular music. Sounding solidly contemporary while remaining steeped in the sort of smart danceability introduced to the public at large by Talking Heads or one of their offshoots, Tom Tom Club; keep your eyes and ears focused on what GIVERS have to offer.”
-Cecil Doyle
Music Director (88.7 KRVS)

“There’s a joyfulness in a Givers song that is impossible to pin down, a mix of musical styles and influences that connect with a celebratory yell, music that opens on itself to reveal a ebullient, open heart. It’s sophisticated stuff for a band of early 20-somethings. But youth knows no limitations, and the young musicians in Givers are seemingly bound by nothing.”
-Cody Daigle
(The Times of Acadiana Magazine)

“Givers, brand new group from Lafayette, Louisiana, deliver an alluring potion of lo-fi lovepop. The ska-influenced bassist carries the song, while the boy/girl vocal team sing about mutually bleeding hearts and favourite sweaters.”
-Silence Killer Blog

Tracks (all tracks written by GIVERS, Published by Tasso Loop Music BMI)
1. Up, Up, Up
2. Meantime
3. Ceiling of Plankton
4. Saw You First
5. Up, Up, Up (remix)

GIVERS are
Taylor Guarisco – voice, guitar, moves

Tif “teddy” Lamson – voice, percussion,ukulele, guitar, moves

Will Henderson- keyboards, samples, sax, flutes, voice, wizardry

Josh LeBlanc – bass guitar, trumpet, freedom, sauce

Kirby Campbell- drums, samples, voice, sweat, seal

Photos by Allison Bohl

Booking Contact/Agent
Peter Agoston
Panache Booking: peter@panacherock.com

Paula LaFargue is a former Louisiana Ex-Pat who has returned home to be with family and to strike out on her own with an elegant and playful line of handmade dresses, skirts, and blouses. See what you think of her work in our September Artist of the Month feature!

Paula LaFargue's Handmade Clothing Line

Now shipping!

Available at iTunes now

To make a contribution to any traditional folk genre, a writer must know its traditional book of tunes, play to its audiences, and speak its language. Cedric Watson in this 2nd album as leader forges ahead with original Creole music influenced by the French Creole diaspora and West Africa. Creole’s roots are revealed in Cedric’s journey through the influences of kompa, merengue, and the flexible and sometimes humorous approach Black Creoles take interpreting duple and triple meters.

Louisiana’s Black Creole roots go back to West Africa and to many of the 6000 slaves shipped to Louisiana between 1717 and 1721 of which 2000 survived. In the Caribbean chain, Louisiana was but the last link of the Middle Passage giving Louisiana’s Creole culture and music an unbroken link to West Africa.

Bijou Creole is a group of Lafayette’s young but very capable, perceptive, and experienced musicians. This is a forward looking French Creole band bound to change what Louisiana French Creole music can be in the 21st century.

- D’Jalma Garnier

Tracks
1. Bijou Créole 3:42
2. Le Sud de la Louisiane 4:07
3. Mais là 2:55
4. J’suis parti au Texas 2:44 (Traditional, Arr. by Cedric Watson, Tasso Loop Music BMI)
5. Zydeco Paradise 4:15
6. Lafayette lala 3:34
7. J’suis gone à la Blue Moon 3:46
8. C’est la vie 3:29
9. Grand Marais (Dennis McGee, Flat Town Music BMI) 3:05
10. Gardes là-bas 3:13
11. Cher ‘tit coeur 2:53
12. Bluerunner (Bébé Carrière, Flat Town Music BMI) 4:38

Total Playing Time 42:12

All Songs written by Cedric Watson, Published by Tasso Loop Music BMI, unless otherwise noted.

We have a few favorites and we’ve included some runners up in this months AOM, but Christine Peirce really kicked it up a notch and we are proud to call her July Artist of the Month!

Look for Christine’s music on our Lafayette non-traditional music scene compilation coming out later this year…

Christine Peirce is the winner of our Tipitina's cong contest with her track, "Me & You"

Tipitina’s Co-op, a tech access center providing business development and job skills training for local musicians, filmmakers and other digital media professionals, will serve as host to the contest, in which artists are allowed only 3 hours to record a song as an entry. The artist submitting the winning track will be awarded $200, a feature on the Valcour Records website, and a spot on the upcoming Valcour Records Lafayette music scene compilation due out later this year.

Contest Rules

• All entries must be recorded at the Tipitina’s Music Office Co-op (at 510 Johnston Street) in Lafayette during the month of July
• Participating artists and bands must consider their home base to be within the 22 parishes of Acadiana (and must provide a mailing address in Acadiana)
• All entries must consist of original material
• Only one entry per Artist or band (if two different bands share one member, that is fine, but different bands cannot contain two or more of the same members)
• All entries must be recorded and mixed from start to finish during a single three hour recording session (it is fine to use songs previously written and worked on, but all recording must take place during the three hour session)
• Song entries must be between two and four minutes in duration
• Entries will be judged by the partners at Valcour Records, LLC; criteria will include, but are not limited to: songwriting, instrumentation, vocals, creativity, performance quality, production quality, and likability
• Checks will be made out to a single recipient indicated at the time of entry, and any distribution among participants thereafter will be solely the responsibility of the artist
• Participants under 18 years of age must provide the name of a parent or legal guardian to accept financial winnings on their behalf
• All genres of music are welcome and variety is encouraged
• Contest rules are subject to change without notification

To schedule an appointment to create your entry, please contact Rachel Nederveld at the
Lafayette Tipitina’s Music Office Co-op:

(337) 234-5137
510 Johnston St
Lafayette, LA 70501

This is the first album in the Valcour Records Artist Series.

Often times, Cajun music fans find themselves skipping ahead to the twin fiddles track on their favorite album. This is not because its the only track they love, but because there is something special about the harmonic fiddles that resonates, literally, somewhere deep within. It presents a sound that is unique to Cajun music, and in Louisiana we can feel it in our blood, and it creates a sound track for our identity.

Linzay Young and Joel Savoy are no strangers to this feeling. They have been playing the fiddle together for years, whether in bands, at impromptu concerts, or at home around the kitchen table. In fact they like to call it “Kitchen Music,” because its just the music they like to play when they get together at the table, plain and simple.

The two have been playing music together for over 15 years. Having learned to fiddle side by side at the Savoy Music Center Saturday morning jam session they share a remarkable musical connection that is uncanny at times. In this recording, their first as a duo, they pay tribute to their musical heros from around the Eunice area where they grew up such as Dennis McGee, Wade Frugé, and Cheese Read. Breathing new life into some of these old tunes and carefully recreating others as well as writing new ones, this is a recording that jumps out at you and will make you smile because you can tell a lot of joy went into the making of it. There’s a lot to be said for fancy studio recordings and big productions- and there’s plenty of that out on the market. Here’s proof that oftentimes, less is more.

“In an age where everything seems to be way over-analyzed, it’s nice to be able to just sit down and make a record in an afternoon with no fuss and no frills­—the old fashioned way. This is our music. We hope you enjoy it.”

-Linzay and Joel

Available for download at:

Tracks

1. Madame Young (Dennis McGee, Flat Town Music)
   Joel: Fiddle
   Linzay: Fiddle and Vocal
2. Si Tu Voudrais Marier (Traditional, Arr. Joel and Linzay, Tasso Loop Music)
   Joel: Fiddle and Background Vocal
   Linzay: Guitar and Vocal
3. Tous les Soirs (Traditional, Arr. Joel and Linzay, Tasso Loop Music
   Joel: Fiddle
   Linzay: Guitar and Vocal
4. Reel Cajun (Dennis McGee, Flat Town Music)
   Joel: Fiddle
   Linzay: Fiddle
5. The Wedding March (Traditional, Arr. Joel and Linzay, Tasso Loop Music)
   Joel: Fiddle and Vocal Harmony
   Linzay: Fiddle and Vocal
6. J’ai laissé de la maison (Traditional, Arr. Joel and Linzay, Tasso Loop Music)
   Joel: Guitar
   Linzay: Fiddle and Vocal
7. Gumbo Waltz (Traditional, Arr. Joel and Linzay, Tasso Loop Music)
   Joel: Fiddle
   Linzay: Fiddle
8. Missouri Heights (Linzay Young, Panse Bourrée Publishing/Tasso Loop Music)
   Joel: Guitar
   Linzay: Fiddle
9. Mercredi Soir (Traditional, Arr. Joel, Tasso Loop Music)
   Joel: Fiddle and Vocal
10. Wagoner (Traditional, Arr. Joel and Linzay, Tasso Loop Music)
    Joel: Guitar
    Linzay: Fiddle
11. Reel Cajun (Dennis McGee, Flat Town Music)
    Joel: Fiddle
    Linzay: Fiddle
12. La Valse à Pop (Dennis McGee, Flat Town Music)
    Joel: Fiddle
    Linzay: Fiddle and Vocal
13. Empty Bottle Stomp (Traditional, Arr. Joel and Linzay, Tasso Loop Music)
    Joel: Fiddle
    Linzay: Fiddle

The Valcour Records Artist Series Albums are eco-friendly, using recycled materials in the minimal packaging, and are made for easy packing and transport, so that our artists can fit plenty in their suitcase as they head out on the road to sell their music at live performances.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the new Bonsoir Catin album, Vive L’Amour, is finally here! Well, at least it will be here on June 15th…

You can pre-order it now from our CD Store and we will ship it to you just as soon as it arrives.

As promised, we are also offering two bonus tracks for you to download free, right here:
La Valse de Tolan
Mama Rosin

Want to know more?! Here is an excerpt by Darrell Scott from the CD’s liner notes that describes it all:

“Good friends sharing lead singing—even bringing in songs for another to sing (listening to the wisdom of elders, too…Ginny Hawker: “Yvette, this is a song you have to sing with these girls” or a great great great grandfather’s letter to a dying daughter turning into a song)—real music.

These friends honor their roots, carrying their ancestors as naturally as they carry their own children—and while they honor the past, they are not slaves to the past—combining Cajun, country, bawdy powerful woman blues, old time—this is not exactly their grandmother’s music; but, it is their grandmother’s spirit—real women.

If you need your music women propped up on high heels, paint-n-powder—you’re s.o.l. here—they clearly prefer to wear the same boots on stage, or dancing, as wa;king through the workd—real women/realmusic.”

Tracklist
1. Mon Aimable Brune
2. ‘73 Special
3. J’Aimerais Sentir Comme Ca Chez Moi
4. Un Bouquet de Camelias
5. Donne-Moi Une Autre Chance
6. Je Suis Pas Apres Chercher
7. Orphan Waltz
8. Listen to Me when I Talk to You
9. Si Je Pourrais Oublier
10. Black Cat Bones
11. Reuben’s Train
12. Le Moulin

You can read the story on the magazines website here.

All Things Considered sees the light

Melissa Block interviews Chas Justus, genius producer behind Christine Balfa Plays the Triangle, about the importance of the Triangle to humanity, our culture, and Pythagorus.

Listen to the full story here.

Jerry O'Connell and Lauren Stamile get saucy over a "cornbread courtesy call" in Nora Roberts' Midnight Bayou

Do you like hot and heavy Louisiana romance? Do you like ghost stories? Do you believe in reincarnation?

Then you will LOVE Nora Roberts’ Midnight Bayou on Lifetime TV!

Seriously, the title track from Goin’ Down to Louisiana made its second movie appearance in this movie based on  a Nora Roberts romance novel. The movie, also starring Faye Dunaway, was filmed in New Orleans and at Oak Alley Plantation on River Road. It is second in a series of four Roberts adaptations appearing on Lifetime this spring.

You can watch the movie online here (the song actually plays in the first 30 seconds), or you can purchase the collection on iTunes here.

Christine Balfa; photo by Lucius Fontenot

The Independent Weekly’s Reese Fuller has caught on to the uncanny success Christine Balfa is having from her chart-pulverizing album, Plays the Triangle, out on Valcour Records.

“Seven hours after listening to Plays the Triangle, your hearing returns to normal, your vision clears up, that rash disappears, and you feel – strangely enough – both refreshed and violated. ”

Read the full article here.

With all the buzz surrounding our latest release, Christine Balfa Plays the Triangle, we couldn’t help but have a little fun with it. We’re hoping fans, musicians, and others who were just kind of accidentally exposed to this can help!

One thing is undeniable about Christine Balfa’s Triangle playing—she’s got skills. Reviewers from The New York Times to offBeat Magazine to about.com have sung her praises based on this release. While intended as a gag, the album’s usefulness as a glorified metronome cannot be denied.

Now is your chance to have Christine Balfa in your rhythm section. We are asking you to make a song for us. Using the hit single from the Triangle album, The Balfa Waltz, we want you to show us what you can do. That doesn’t mean just play the actual Balfa Waltz with Christine’s track mixed in, it means make up something completely original. It can be Folk, Rock, Indie, House, whatever you want! Heck, even if you’re a complete amateur with a Mac, throw it in Garage Band and sing us your crappy lovesong you wrote for that girl in high school that was way out of your league.

What do you get if you win? A check for a whopping $100 dollars, the full Valcour catalog (6 albums), and who knows, maybe we can get you some air time with our trusted radio friends. No guarantees on that last part, but we’ll try! Just consider this the inflated Valcour stimulus package. Our little way of helping out in troubled economic times.

Regardless, we’ll post the top four or five songs right here on our website, as well as links from our Myspace and Facebook pages, just to make it official.

(if you don’t see them already, click the “continue reading” link below to view the Terms of the Contest)

———-

Terms of the Contest

Entries due by Friday, March 27th at 5PM.

Entry track duration must be 5 minutes or less.

Any one entrant can submit up to five songs.

You must be at least 18 years of age to enter (if you are in a band, at least one person has to be over 18) or else have a legal guardian submit your entry for you.

Winners are picked strictly based on the subjective opinion of our in-house judges. Valcour Records is not obligated to publish any song or pay anyone we don’t feel like  paying. In fact, Valcour Records is not obligated to do anything that has anything to do with the contest described in this post. You will just have to trust us.

Winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 1st.

Instructions

1. Download “The Balfa Waltz” to your computer:
sd2 Format (38 Megs, compatible with most any digital music production software)
mp3 Format (8 Megs, in case you want to just play the music in the background while you scream and beat on pots and pans into your old tape recorder)

2. Make your own song with it

3. E-mail your song in mp3 or m4a format to bonjour [at] valcourrecords [dot] com by March 27th at 5PM. In the email, include your actual name, your rock and roll pseudonym (if applicable), your email address, your snail-mail home address, a phone number where you can be reached, and song/musician credits (f you are a band, please submit this information for all members). If you are having a legal guardian submit for you, please include their name, email address,  snail-mail home address, and a phone number where they can be reached. Failure to include this information can result in disqualification.

———-

Best of luck! We can’t wait to hear your entries!

Eleisha is also a devoted tour-horse, so hopefully you can catch her soon in your own town. In the meantime, witness her talents for yourself in our February Artist of the Month Feature!

February Artist of the Month: Eleisha Eagle

Valcour is a repeat customer

This post is just a brief update on some great recent press. Two weeks in a row now, the New York Times has heaped praise on releases by Valcour artists.

First, on GRAMMY day, Cedric Watson’s eponymous debut was reviewed. You can read it here.

And today, Christine Balfa Plays the Triangle has gotten its much deserved prestigious New York Times write-up! Read that review here.

Oh, and its also worth mentioning that offBeat Magazine’s Steve Hochman reviewed the Triangle CD in fantastic style as well. You can read that here.

Cedric Watson is making waves.

Creole wonder-boy Cedric Watson is probably en route to Los Angeles as I type this. He will be performing and participating in the GRAMMY Festivities along with all of his Louisiana friends, sent there to represent us properly. He has been nominated for his eponymous release in the category of Best Cajun or Zydeco Album and his young career is off to a promising and well-deserved start.

He was recently featured on the BBC’s Folk America series (his second BBC appearance), and gets a write-up in this coming Sunday’s New York Times Arts and Leisure section (February 8th, 2009).

Just as a primer for the Grammies, we are posting premium Cedric content so all his fans can learn a little more about his background and what he seeks to accomplish through his music. He isn’t just another pretty face! Cedric really is firmly planted by his roots and intends to use his success to share the music and hodge-podge of cultures he loves with the world.

Let’s start with a podcast. In this podcast, our fearless interrogator, Lucius Fontenot, talks with Cedric about his upbringing, his music, how he got where he is, and where he wants to go. Listen to the podcast here (21 min 54 sec).

You can also just subscribe to the Valcour Records Podcast (launches iTunes).

Next, we have a couple of videos for you, courtesy of the BBC (WMV format):

BBC Interview with Cedric >

Cedric Watson and Bijoux Créole perform Tu Sera avec Moi at the Barbican >

After that you should be just about up to speed. Don’t forget to look for Cedric in Sunday’s New York Times, and best of luck to all the Louisiana GRAMMY nominees! Whether Cedric takes it home or not, it is great that a young talent like him has the opportunity to represent our great state and culture along with the big boys (and girls).

Here is more info from the Barbican website:

“The BBC’s Folk America series is a comprehensive survey of American folk music which goes all the way back to the dawn of recorded sound.

In it, the extraordinary people, the timeless songs and the multifarious stories intertwine to make up a great and continuingly relevant tradition.

In these two Folk America concerts we reflect, engage with and celebrate the music that has inspired the programmes.

Hollerers, Stompers & Old Time Ramblers focuses on old time music; the sounds of the Appalachian Mountains and of the Mississippi Delta which were first recorded in the 1920s and 1930s, and which still haunt the imagination today.

Maverick bluesman Seasick Steve will be joined by The Wiyos delivering a blend of vaudeville, hillbilly swing and old-time country, the authentic Hokum blues of CW Stoneking and the lonesome sound of Nashville’s Diana Jones.

Visit the BBC Folk America site

BBC Four will broadcast the documentary series on Fri 23 Jan, Fri 30 Jan and Fri 6 Feb. The Old-Time concert will air on Fri 23 Jan and the Greenwich Village concert will air on Fri 13 Feb. These will be accompanied by archive documentaries and sessions.”