Links
Bands and Musicians
Dirk Powell Band - Dirk's acclaimed old-time group. Catch them if you can!!
Red Stick Ramblers - A great young band, combining Cajun traditions with Western Swing and other forms of "danceable" folk music. As of May 2004, Kevin tours with these guys when he's not playing with Balfa Toujours.
Ray Abshire - Courtney and Kevin played on Ray's CFMA Award-Winning Debut Album, "Pour Les Bons Vieux Temps". Ray played with the Balfa Brothers in the 70's and has played with Balfa Toujours several times as well.
Magnolia Sisters - An all-female Cajun group comprised of four of our closest friends. Christine is a former member and appears on their CD "Chers Amis".
Tim O'Brien - A good friend and fine all-around musician. Dirk frequently plays with Tim and has appeared on several of his CD's, including "Two Journeys", the title track of which is a bilingual version of Dirk and Christine's song "Deux Voyages", which.... (still with us?) is the title track of the Balfa Toujours CD that Tim produced and played on.
Charivari - Mitchell Reed played with Balfa Toujours for several years and appeared on our album "La Pointe". It's still not terribly uncommon to catch him up onstage with us at local gigs, playing bass and the occasional twin fiddle number with Kevin. His current band, Charivari, is just plain great.
Boxed Wine Jubilee - This group is comprised mostly of young Cajun musicians who primarily play with other bands, but get together when they can. Kevin is their fiddle player.
Corey "Lil Pop" Ledet - Corey is a wonderful up-and-coming Zydeco accordionist who can occasionally be persuaded to sit in on drums with Cajun bands (Balfa Toujours, for example) when he's not busy leading his own band or playing old-style Creole music with fiddler Cedric Watson. Dirk produced his recent debut CD "3 Years 2 Late".
Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys - These guys are a phenomenal band who are justly one of the preeminent bands in Cajun music (well, music in general, actually), and we're honored to have them as friends.
Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie - Geno, following in the footsteps of his father, the late John Delafose, plays zydeco music with his feet firmly planted in the traditions in which he was raised. He frequently sits in with Balfa Toujours, most notably on our release "Live at Whiskey River Landing", where he sat in on the drums.
Tom Mitchell - A really remarkable guitar player, Tom and Kevin have been longtime collaborators and partners in crime. They recorded their Django Reinhardt-style swing CD "Double Scotch" a few years back, and they're currently both working on an early jazz album with our friend Ann Savoy and members of the Red Stick Ramblers.
Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band - Keith is another zydeco legend-in-the-making. His family has been playing music for several generations, and his father, Preston Frank, is another good friend of ours. Frequently, Kevin can be seen playing fiddle with both Preston and Keith, in the style of Preston's Uncle Carlton, one of the few living Creole fiddle players of the pre-Zydeco era.
Donna the Buffalo - Dirk actually helped found this band from Ithaca, NY, and both Dirk and Kevin played with DTB's Jim Miller, Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear in the zydeco group "Zydeco Norton" back in the early 1990's. We are thrilled when our paths cross on the road, and whisky-induced impromptu jams often result.
Friends and Family
Christine and Nelda, from the Louisiana Folklife Center database.
Harry Wimmer, Kevin's Dad, is a renowned classical cellist, conductor and teacher.
Shirley Givens, Kevin's Mom, is a classical violinist and violin teacher, famous for her original violin method for children, "Adventures in Violinland".
Cultural and Educational Resources
Louisiana Folk Roots - An organization very near and dear to us. Christine is the founding director, and the whole band remains involved in the organization, mainly through teaching at the finest Cajun/Creole music camp around, The Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week.
Music Matters - Zydeco accordionist Terrance Simien and his wife, Cynthia, head up this organization devoted to helping Louisiana musicians realize their full potential. They are also instrumental in the fight to establish a Cajun/Zydeco Grammy category.
Central Acadiana Gateway - A website maintained by LSU Eunice with a plethora of information. Word to the wise, don't click on this link if you don't have at least a couple of hours to explore, there is so much useful and fun information here. Be sure to check out the glossary of Cajun, Creole and Zydeco musicians. There are some excellent pictures and info about Balfa Toujours here, too.
CODOFIL - The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana.
C.R.E.O.L.E. Inc. - An organization dedicated to preserving Creole culture.
Action Cadienne - This organization is working to preserve Cajun culture through language, and one of their main goals is to expand French Immersion programs in Louisiana schools.
Cajun French Glossary from LSU's Department of French Studies.
Asteur - A great publication written in Cajun French about people, places and things relevant to modern Cajun life.
Mais Oui! - A website in French containing lots of great photos and information about cultural events and general goings-on in or pertaining to Louisiana.
The Cajun Life and Times - An online magazine containing all sorts of new and interesting information about Cajun music, culture, food and daily life in Louisiana.
Crazy Gator Pages - All sorts of fun and useful information, hosted by our friend Jim Phillips.
Gary Hayman's Zyd-E-Zine - A huge clearinghouse for Cajun and Zydeco information, both in Louisiana and elsewhere. Subscribe to the free newsletter!
OffBeat Magazine - A monthly magazine featuring all genres of Louisiana music. Great CD reviews and music listings.
The Patsy Report - If you're from Louisiana or are planning on visiting, this site is indispensible. It's a simple yet extremely comprehensive list of just about every musical event happening in Louisiana at any given time.
Places to Visit
Louisiana Heritage and Gifts - Mitchell and Lisa Reed's store. Weekly jam sessions, music lessons and a great selection of products, including musical instruments, CD's, books, art and more.
Savoy Music Center - Marc Savoy, a legend in his own time, played frequently with Dewey. He is also known for perfecting the modern prototype of the Cajun-style accordion and his "Acadian" brand accordions are known as some of the finest in the world. The website features not only his accordions and other instruments, but also videos, music and books by various members of the Savoy family, and some great cultural commentary by Marc. Also, if you're ever in Eunice on a Saturday morning, this is the place to be.
Floyd's Record Shop - The home of Swallow records, where Balfa Toujours released their first two CD's. They offer a great selection of Louisiana music (particularly Cajun, Zydeco and Swamp Pop), and you can order from them online.
Whiskey River Landing - Really, really, really our favorite place to play. So much so, in fact, that we recorded our live CD there. They not only offer unforgettable parties every Sunday afternoon, but also swamp tours and other fun stuff!
Blue Moon Saloon and Guest House - A great club in Lafayette. They also offer hostel-style lodgings. For those who can't be in Louisiana, be sure to check out their live webcam, from which you can see the band and the dancers any time someone's playing.
Radio Stations
KRVS - Our local NPR station. They offer many shows featuring Louisiana music, as well as news and some other quirky broadcasts. Live online streaming is available.
KBON - Essentially all Louisiana, all the time, this station is really wonderful and also offers live online streaming.
WWOZ - A station out of New Orleans, their format features primarily (and quite notably!) New Orleans music, but some of their shows are Cajun or Creole related. They, too, offer online streaming.
Business and Such
Rounder Records - Our current record label. Browse their catalog if you get a chance; you'll see that we're extremely lucky to be in the company of so many other fine musicians.
Folklore Productions - Our booking agent, who represent many of the finest musicians in roots music today. Again, we're so proud to be in such fine company.
This is our first genuine attempt at a links page, and we're sure we forgot lots of important links here. Bear with us, we'll attempt to keep it as updated as possible and keep new information coming. Please let us know if you notice a bad link, and thanks for stopping by!
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This site created and maintained by Kevin Wimmer (kwimmer@aol.com).
Copyright 1998, 1999 Kevin Wimmer and Balfa Toujours. All rights reserved.
Last updated 10/11/04.
