As spectators gathered Friday night for the start of Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in Lafayette, a sense of anticipation filled the air.
Festivalgoers lined up on the lawn of Scène Ma Louisiane, the event's main stage, to grab a piece of the "boudin ribbon" that's cut each year to officially kick off Acadiana's largest Cajun and Creole music festival. It's a tradition that says a lot about the spirit of this globally-renowned outdoor party, designed to bring people together around a shared love for Acadiana's food, craft, music and dance.
"We've been coming for 25 years," said Tim Brasseaux, standing in the boudin line with his wife, Paula. "It's a great time, great music, wonderful atmosphere. It's just a great community tradition."
It doesn't get much better than eating boudin surrounded by friends, family and hundreds of festival fans — that is, until the music and dancing start. Then the party really begins, lifting people out of their lawn chairs and into a twirling melee of smiling two-steppers.
Festival Acadiens et Creoles kicks off with a 50th Anniversary Revue including Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys & special guests: Joel Savoy, Linzay Young, David Greely & Cameron Fontenot, Marc Savoy & Family, Dexter Ardoin & Cedric Watson, Christine Balfa & Peter Schwarz, CJ Chenier, Robert Jardell, Donny Broussard & Sheryl Cormier and Gary Newman on Friday, October 12, 2024, in Girard Park.
This year, Festivals Acadiens et Créoles celebrated its 50-year anniversary with a Friday night kickoff concert that honored the original Cajun and Zydeco musicians that started it all, back at UL Lafayette's Blackham Coliseum in 1974. That night, musical greats like Marc Savoy, Clifton Chenier, Jimmy C. Newman and the Balfa Brothers brought down the house — creating a new generation of Cajun and Creole music lovers in the process.
READ MORE: 'It's Lafayette's backyard party': Remembering 50 years of Festivals Acadiens et Créoles
On Friday, Savoy was the only artist from the original 1974 concert to perform. When asked how his performance might differ from the show held 50 years ago, he laughed and pointed at his cane before taking the stage with his son, Wilson Savoy, and other members of the Savoy family band.
"We put 100% of our energy and love into playing here in front of this crowd, with thousands of our local friends out in the audience," said Wilson Savoy. "It's absolutely our favorite show, and we feed off the energy of the crowd."
Other contemporary local musicians stood in for the rest of the original lineup. Megan Constantin and David Greely performed in place of Inez Catalan and Marcus Landry, playing in a similar acoustic style to emphasize the beauty of singing the region's traditional songs in French.
"David and I share the same passion for these songs, and that's why we love doing them," Constantin said. "They have great stories attached to them, and they preserve vocabulary in the French language that we wouldn't have otherwise without songs like this."
As the night progressed, and performers like Dexter Ardoin, Christine Balfa and Gary Newman stood in for their elders — in the process, representing some of Acadiana's premiere musical families — the stage lawn quickly turned to dust as more and more dancers joined the party.
Lynne Kemp, left, and Bill Kemp, dance to live music as Festival Acadiens et Creoles kicks off with a 50th Anniversary Revue including Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys & special guests: Joel Savoy, Linzay Young, David Greely & Cameron Fontenot, Marc Savoy & Family, Dexter Ardoin & Cedric Watson, Christine Balfa & Peter Schwarz, CJ Chenier, Robert Jardell, Donny Broussard & Sheryl Cormier and Gary Newman on Friday, October 12, 2024, in Girard Park.
CJ Chenier's set was a highlight of the evening, judging from the number of people brought to their feet by his rendition of "I'm Coming Home," one of Clifton Chenier's most popular hits.
"It's an honor to play one of his favorite and most popular songs," said CJ Chenier, who played the accordion with all of his father's style and finesse. "I'm all about the energy and fire."
In reflecting on the evening, and the legacy of the original musicians who helped make Festivals Acadiens et Créoles what it is today, Gary Newman — the son of Cajun and country musician Jimmy C. Newman — said he was honored to be playing his father's music for such an eager crowd.
"Thank goodness for Barry, and UL, and all the people that have been doing this for 50 years," he said. "This is a great festival. It's huge. It started out big, and it got even bigger.
"We knew that it was a special thing back then. It needed to happen, and Barry made it happen. I'm honored to be a part of it, I really am."