For Corey Ledet, becoming a musician started with a discovery close to home. He found his grandfather’s drum set and began hearing stories about the musician who had played it. His grandfather had performed with Clifton Chénier, Rockin’ Dopsie, and jazz bands of his era. Learning about that history…
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Our beloved Acadiana poet Darrell Bourque once referred to early America’s free-form poets as “marvelous rebels” for breaking the rules of traditional form and allowing their works to be shaped by the spirit inherent in each one. In a modern world like ours, where the contours of our lives are so…
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For Dwayne Dopsie, zydeco music has never been something separate from life; it’s been part of it from the very beginning. Growing up in a legendary musical family, he spent his childhood watching his father, Rockin’ Dopsie Sr., and his brother, Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., perform. By the age of four, he…
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Our beloved Acadiana poet Darrell Bourque once referred to early America’s free-form poets as “marvelous rebels” for breaking the rules of traditional form and allowing their works to be shaped by the spirit inherent in each one. In a modern world like ours, where the contours of our lives are so…
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Long before “farm-to-table” became a trend, Lafayette was already living it. In Lafayette, the term “farm to table” is a necessity. As a native myself, I grew up among the rice fields and crawfish ponds of the Acadiana area. Buying boiled crawfish at a restaurant was a foreign concept to me until…
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Each spring, Downtown Lafayette comes alive with the sights, sounds, and flavors of Festival International de Louisiane, the largest free Francophone festival in the U.S. This five-day event transforms the city into a global stage, where music, art, and culture from around the world take center…
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Since the very first Festival International de Louisiane in 1986 photographer Philip Gould has captured moments that show how the unique festival has grown to become one of the largest non-ticketed Francophone events in the world. We have partnered with him to showcase some his most memorable…
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Stretching across Lafayette and the surrounding communities, the African American Heritage Trail offers a powerful, place-based journey through the people, institutions, and stories that shaped Black life in Lafayette Parish and throughout Acadiana. From historic churches and schools founded during…
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GRAMMY award-winning and nominated musicians from Acadiana Music has been the soul of Acadiana since the area's humble beginnings, with a melting pot of Cajuns, Creoles, European, and Native American cultures inspiring fresh new sounds. South Louisiana has fostered folk music, country, rock, rhythm…
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For much of the 18th century, Spain ruled the Louisiana colony while England controlled land at its eastern borders. When Spanish Gov. Bernardo de Galvez took over in 1777, he quietly aided the American colonists fighting the British in the American Revolution by supplying them with arms shipped up…
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