Featured Photo: Amanda Shaw performs at Mudbug Madness in 2013. Photo by Jim Noetzel.
Mudbug Madness, the annual crawfish and live music festival held in Shreveport’s Festival Plaza each Memorial Day Weekend, has posted the music lineup for their 2016 festival. Headliners include some of the biggest names in Zydeco music (Wayne Toups and Zydecajun, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, and Rockin’ Dopsie and the Zydeco Twisters, just to name a few) as well as a handful of unexpected surprises that’ll delight fans of various music genres. As a long-time Cajun and Zydeco music lover, I wanted to share my personal take on a few bands on the list:
Bonsoir, Catin
Saturday, May 28, 2-4 p.m.
Reinhart Foodservice Stage
Out of the six members of Cajun revival group Bonsoir, Catin, five are women. Those women include Christine Balfa, daughter of Cajun music legend Dewey Balfa, as well as three-time Grammy-nominated fiddler and fiddle-maker, Anya Burgess. I caught a blues and honky tonk-infused set by the band on their native turf in Lafayette and have wanted to see them again ever since. Fans of really good electric blues guitar playing will not want to miss this band. Here’s an example of why:
Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys
Sunday, May 29, 6-8 p.m.
Reinhart Foodservice Stage
As far as high-energy, downright fun live performances at Mudbug Madness go, Amanda Shaw is one of the most energetic performers that I’ve ever seen on the Mudbug stage. She last performed here in 2013, stomping around the stage in six-inch heels and fully captivating the crowd as her band tore through originals as well as sped-up Cajun fiddle tunes and, you know, covers of The Clash.
Rockin’ Dopsie and the Zydeco Twisters
Sunday, May 29, 9-11 p.m.
Reinhart Foodservice Stage
They don’t call him “the James Brown of the Bayou” for nothing. During his set, you’ll see Dopsie do the splits while playing the washboard and all sorts of other incredible moves. Once, during a show at Sam’s Town Casino, I saw him jump off of the stage, grab an audience member who was seated in a wheelchair, and proceed to dance in time with the music while pushing the wheelchair all over the club. It was great. While Dopsie’s sets are heavy on the Zydeco-styled classic rock and R&B covers, he still makes it fun because he’s an absolute wildman.
The 33rd annual Mudbug Madness will be held, May 26-29, in downtown Shreveport’s Festival Plaza.
For more information on upcoming events in Shreveport-Bossier, visit www.SBFunGuide.com.
