Changing tune – Young Cajun rockers Feufollet showcase a new sound
The last time the young Cajun band Feufollet went into the studio, what resulted probably surpassed all their expectations. En Couleurs, released in 2010, sounds pretty tame today. But at the time, it was cutting-edge for modern Cajun music–rocking rather than two-stepping in the form of a concept album filled with musical interludes and intros keyed to colors of the prismatic spectrum.
For traditional Cajun music fans who were starting to admire the young band’s remarkable ability to play just like their elders–but with a fresh, updated perspective–En Couleurs might have been confusing and disappointing. But to the new, young audiences in south Louisiana and the band’s musical peers, En Couleurs was a breath of fresh day-lit air.
By way of local swamp pop veterans Li’l Band o’ Gold, the album found its way into the hands of Elvis Costello, who was mightily impressed and said so in an interview in the British music press. What followed were unexpected bookings in England and mainland Europe, capped off with an unexpected Grammy nomination back home.
Feufollet ended up meeting Costello, as well as one of their musical heroes, Neil Young, at the Grammy ceremony. The band members really felt like they were living the musical dream of success–and this one in full, LED-bright color.
Fast-forward four years and you might be wondering what’s happened since then. Why didn’t Feufollet grab the momentum and use it to catapult to national prominence? There’s not a simple answer.
Life intervened. But the truth is that Feufollet is a quintessential Lafayette band. Like their counterparts, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, The Red Stick Ramblers, The Pine Leaf Boys, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole and Bonsoir, Catin, they are engaged in the Cajun music revival. And for these bands, it’s the music that matters. Fame and success are good, but making the music and forming the kind of genuine camaraderie that actually gives birth to the music is considered essential.
Four years later and Feufollet is a new band grown organically out of the old one–a new band with a wholly different approach to the music. Like a growing contingent of their counterparts, Feufollet has begun to embrace a Cajun honky-tonk sensibility–still two-steppable, but Fender Stratocastable, too.
The original generation of Cajun music revivalists may have regarded Cajun honky-tonk as a dilution of the real acoustic tradition. But the new generation views it as a demonstration of Cajun music’s strength and flexibility–of its inherent ability to absorb diverse musical influences.
The new Feufollet also has two new members: keyboardist Andrew Toups, formerly of Brass Bed, and singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Kelli Jones-Savoy, a North Carolina native who can easily identify the sweet spot where the twang of bluegrass meets the wail of old-fashioned Cajun.
The new, as-yet-untitled Feufollet album is expected to be ready by mid-April, when the band will roll out the new music for a host of dates coinciding with several south Louisiana festivals. The album will feature 11 original songs sung in French and English. The band wrapped up a crowd-funding campaign in March to help pay for national distribution.
There’s no question the new album will be just as big a success as the last one. How big? With young neo-string band rockers now a part of the national music scene, the only limit may be the sunny blue sky.
Find out more about the band at feufollet.net.
Feufollet has plenty of upcoming shows in South Louisiana to check out:
April 11: Tipitina’s in New Orleans
April 13: French Quarter Festival in New Orleans
April 26: The Blue Moon Saloon in Lafayette during Festival International
May 2: Siberia in New Orleans
May 4: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
