SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The 28th annual Simi Valley
Cajun & Blues Music Festival will once again enliven Memorial Day
weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 27 and 28,
at Rancho
Santa Susanna Community Park, 5005 Los
Angeles Ave., in Simi Valley. The event features a full stage for each of
its musical genres. The spirited music will go non-stop each day from 12
noon until 7:30 p.m. (or 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.).
Single Day tickets are $25 for adults (13
and over); $45 for a 2-day pass; children 12 and younger are free. New this
year will be a limited number of SuperTicket passes. For $124 for a single
day or $199 for both days, SuperTickets holders get a reserved seat, in the
shade, directly in the front of the blues stage as well as private bar
access (and two complimentary drinks) and other exclusive “backstage
experiences.” Tickets are available on the festival’s website: http://www.simicajun.org/. (Note: the only tickets available at the gate are
single-day, $30)
Headlining the blues stage this year will
be the pioneering blues-rock band the Yardbirds, the Robby
Krieger Band (celebrating 50 years of the Doors' music), Mitch
Ryder, Lazy Lester and the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy; as well as
L.A.-based roots-rockers the 44’s, soulful SoCal songstress Alex
Nester and festival returnees Kelly’s Lot. Another festival
favorite, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, returns for
the fourth straight year and will be performing at both stages.
On the Cajun and Zydeco stage will be the
“original ragin’ Cajun” fiddler Doug Kershaw; Grammy-winning accordionist
Jo-El Sonnier and the Cajun Trio featuring Michael Doucet,
David Doucet and Mitch Reed. Performing on this stage too are
Crawdaddio and the Bayou Brothers, who also will back Lazy
Lester on the blues stage, while Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the
Golden Eagles will play on both the Cajun/Zydeco and Blues stages.
The annual Mardi Gras Parade will take
place both days, and everyone is invited to join in with the marching
bands, stilt walkers and other costumed characters. Also, during the breaks
at the Cajun/Zydeco stage, dance instructor AJ Gibbs will lead the crowd in
free dance lessons.
About
the headliners:
The
Yardbirds: In
the mid-’60s, the Yardbirds revolutionized music as they pushed British
blues rock into psychedelia and heavy metal. Godhead guitarists Eric
Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page all spent time in the band, playing
alongside core members Jim McCarty (drums), Chris Dreja (rhythm
guitar/bass) and the late Keith Relf (vocals/harmonica). McCarty recently
assembled a new touring line-up that includes guitarist Johnny A (Peter
Wolf), bassist Kenny Aaronson (Joan Jett, Hall & Oates), veteran
harpist Myke Scavone and vocalist/guitarist John Idan, who has been a
Yardbird since the Nineties. The group performs at the festival on Saturday,
May 27.
The
Robby Krieger Band: Regularly cited as one of rock’s all-time top
guitarists, Krieger shot to fame in the Doors. The Los Angeles native wrote
or co-wrote some of the band’s signature tunes, like “Light My Fire,” “Love
Me Two Times,” “Touch Me” and “Love Her Madly.” The Robby Krieger Band will
celebrate 50 years of the Doors’ music when then make their Simi Valley
Cajun & Blues Music Festival debut on May 27.
Mitch
Ryder: If
you have ever heard Bruce Springsteen perform his “Detroit Medley,” you
know Mitch Ryder’s impact on rock history. The medley’s main songs — “Devil
With a Blue Dress,” “Jenny Take a Ride,” “Good Golly Miss Molly” and “C.C.
Rider” — are all tunes Ryder popularized while fronting the Detroit Wheels
in the mid-’60s. The powerhouse vocalist has remained a popular performer,
especially in Europe. This year finds Ryder readying a new album and
working on a stage musical based on his novel Hide Your Love Away.
Experience Ryder’s dynamic rock & soul sound on the blues stage Sunday.
Big
Bad Voodoo Daddy: For nearly a quarter century, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
has been combining the old with the new. Folks can’t help but to dance to
the band’s exhilarating blend of jazz, swing and Dixieland with rock ’n’
roll energy. Formed in Ventura, California, the band has recorded 10 albums
and played over 2700 live shows, including playing for three U.S.
presidents. Rather remarkably, the group remains composed of its core
members: Scotty Morris (lead vocals and guitar), Kurt Sodergren (drums),
Dirk Shumaker (bass), Andy Rowley (baritone saxophone), Glen "The
Kid" Marhevka (trumpet), Karl Hunter (saxophones and clarinet) and
Joshua Levy (piano). They’ll make their second Cajun & Blues Festival
appearance when they hit the blues stage on Sunday.
Doug
Kershaw: Known
as the “original ragin’ Cajun,” Kershaw found crossover success during the
late ’60s when his fierce fiddle playing and hippie-style appearance won
favor with young rock audiences. His career started in the mid-’50s when he
teamed with his brother Rusty to become a popular country duo, scoring hits
with “Diggy Diggy Lo” and the autobiographical “Louisiana Man.” Kershaw,
who was inducted in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2009, will perform
on the Cajun/Zydeco stage on May 27.
Lazy
Lester:
The story goes that, in the mid-’50s, Lazy Lester met Lightin’ Slim by
chance on a bus. Slim needed a harmonica player for a recording and Lester
could play the harp. He wound up playing on many of Slim’s Excello albums
before making his own Excello debut in 1957. The Blues Hall of Famer’s best
known tunes include “I’m a Lover Not a Fighter,” “I Hear You Knockin’,” and
“I’m Gonna Leave You Baby.” After taking a hiatus, Lester returned to music
in the late ’80s and he has made several albums since. Now in his 80s,
Lester still blows a mean, swamp-bluesy harp. He’ll take the blues stage on
May 27, backed by the Bayou Brothers.
Jo-El
Sonnier:
Hailed as the “King of Cajun Music” for the past 25 years, Sonnier is a
wizard of the accordion. The much-in-demand musician has recorded with such
stars as Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson, Robert Cray, Neil Diamond, Mark
Knopfler, Elvis Costello, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton. A multi-Grammy
nominee himself, Sonnier won a Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album
in 2015. He returns to Simi Valley for the second time, performing on the
Cajun stage Saturday and Sunday.
The
Cajun Trio: Michael Doucet, David Doucet & Mitch Reed: These three
musicians were all founding members of BeauSoliel, the internationally
renowned, multi-Grammy winning group that Garrison Keillor hailed as the
"best Cajun band in the world." This trio, with Michael
Doucet on fiddle, his brother David on guitar and Mitch Reed on various
string instruments, showcases its virtuosity by slipping effortlessly among
musical genres. They will play, along with a special surprise guest, both
days of the festival.
Big
Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles: A true ambassador
of New Orleans, Joseph Pierre “Big Chief Monk” Boudreaux is the leader of
the Golden Eagles, a New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tribe. They are known
for their elaborate attire, which includes handmade suits adorned with
brightly colored feathers, intricate beadwork, rhinestones and ruffles, as
well as their music, which combines folk traditions with funk and R&B.
Boudreaux, a 2016 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Award,
brings his Golden Eagles to the Cajun/Zydeco stage on Saturday and the
blues stage on Sunday.
Dwayne
Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers: A Cajun & Blues Festival favorite,
Dwayne “Dopsie” Rubin returns to Simi Valley for the fourth straight year.
He also will be hard to miss since he will be performing on both the blues
and Cajun/Zydeco stages on Saturday and back on the Cajun/Zydeco stage on
Sunday. The son of Zydeco legend Rockin’ Dopsie Sr., Dwayne has carved out
his own successful career. His highly energetic Zydeco style has earned him
a Grammy nomination and the title of “America’s Hottest Accordion” player.
The
blues stage once again was booked by Martin Fleischmann and his
company, Rum & Humble. For more than 20 years Rum & Humble
has played a key role in presenting some of the world’s great musical
talent (Radiohead, King Sunny Ade, and the Rolling Stones, to name a few)
to Los Angeles audiences, in venues like the Hollywood Bowl, the Orpheum
Theatre and the Santa Monica Pier. They also have been a pioneer
promoters in the field of Latin alternative music; Fleischmann is one
of the co-founders of L.A.’s Congo Room. Additionally, Rum & Humble has
collaborated closely with artists such as Jackson Browne and Paul Oakenfold
as well as with a varied roster of corporate and non-profit clients, such
as KJAZZ Radio and the National Geographic Society.
The
Cajun & Blues Festival has received national press accolades:
“Everywhere you turned, there was something exciting happening,” wrote Blue
Revue editor Art Tipaldi, who travelled to L.A. from New England. After
attending last year’s concert, Jazz Weekly’s George W. Harris
proclaimed: “Forget the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Simi Valley Cajun &
Blues fest beats the older and richer sister. This is coming from a jazzer,
yet still, pound for pound and dollar for dollar, I have more fun here than
in Hollywood … it “delivered music made to last … can’t wait until next
year.”
Besides
the great music, festival-goers can enjoy great food too. Southern BBQ and
authentic Cajun-Creole cuisine, such as jambalaya and crawfish, are
available at dozens of food booths, which will also feature a variety of
other dining options. There will be rows of craft booths and retailers to
check out as well.
To
get to the Rancho Santa Susanna Community Park, take California Hwy. 118
(Ronald Reagan Freeway) north from L.A. Exit at Stearns Street and go a
couple blocks south. Ample free parking is available, with the main lot at
the Simi Valley High School; a free shuttle takes to you to the park. This
year, the festival has added thousands of square feet of additional tenting
for shade at no additional charge. Low back chairs are recommended;
however, pop-ups will no longer be allowed in the festival grounds.
100%
of the festival’s profits are donated to charitable, educational and
humanitarian causes on a local, national and international level. A list of
these organizations may be found at < http://www.simicajun.org/who-benefits/>.
The
Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival is a presentation of the
Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise.
Schedule
— subject to change:
SATURDAY MAY 27th
BLUES STAGE
Kelly’s Lot
Lazy Lester
The Yardbirds
The Robby Krieger Band
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers
CAJUN/ZYDECO STAGE
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers
Cajun Trio featuring Michael Doucet, David Doucet and Mitch
Reed
Mardi Gras Parade
Jo-El Sonnier
Doug Kershaw
SUNDAY MAY 28th
BLUES STAGE
Alex Nester
The 44’s
Mitch Ryder
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles
CAUN/ZYDECO STAGE
Bayou Brothers
Crawdaddio
Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers
Mardi Gras Parade
Cajun Trio featuring Michael Doucet, David Doucet and Mitch
Reed
Jo-El Sonnier
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