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 gave Ledet something to follow.
“That’s what influenced me to want to become a musician like him,” he says.
Today, Ledet is a two-time GRAMMY® Award nominee and zydeco musician whose own music reflects both that family history and a much wider range of influences. Growing up, he listened to everything from jazz and country to rock and R&B, sounds that have continued to shape and evolve his approach to zydeco.
The piano accordion gives him the freedom to bring those influences together.
“What I love about accordion, especially the piano accordion, is that it’s basically a piano,” Ledet says. “It’s got all 12 keys. You could play in any key, and you can literally play any style of music in this world.”
That openness extends to the musicians he works with. Ledet seeks out collaborations because they give him opportunities to learn new styles, techniques, and musical theories. For an artist who says music is on his mind when he goes to sleep and again when he wakes up, he always has something new to discover.
Music is more than a profession for Ledet. It has also been a constant throughout his life.
“Music makes me feel alive,” he says. “Music is my therapy. It literally is my therapy. It has helped me out in a lot of bad times in my life, and it continues to help me out.”
He wants to share that feeling when he performs. Festivals are among his favorite places to play because they bring different people and cultures together. For a few hours, the music gives everyone a reason to put aside whatever else may be happening in their lives and enjoy themselves.
It’s a feeling Ledet knows well in Lafayette and throughout Acadiana.
The region’s influence on his music reaches beyond any particular sound. He points to the food, language, hospitality, and culture as pieces of a place that continues to shape who he is as an artist.
“Lafayette, Louisiana, is extremely special because of the rich culture that we have,” he says. “That’s influenced me tremendously.”
For Ledet, carrying that culture forward means preserving more than the music. He has also turned his attention to Creole language, which he sees as an essential part of his heritage and his responsibility as a zydeco musician.
Ledet comes from a generation whose parents were often discouraged from passing their language down. Now, he is working to reclaim it, learning not only how to speak Creole but how to read and write it.
“I believe learning the Creole language is a big part of our Creole heritage and culture,” he says. “So I’m doing my part not only to learn it, but I’m also learning how to read and write.”
He hopes younger generations will do the same.
“My hope for the next generation is to keep the culture going and really especially to pick up the language,” Ledet says.
It’s a continuation of the same idea that first drew him to his grandfather’s drum set. Culture survives when one generation leaves something for the next to discover, learn, and eventually make their own.
For Corey Ledet, that means keeping the music playing while making sure the language, stories, and culture surrounding it move forward, too.
