The 21st annual Gator by the Bay will be held in San Diego, California, USA from May 9th to 12th, 2024. Gator By The Bay Zydeco, Blues & Crawfish Festival is the largest, most-authentic Louisiana-themed music and food festival this side of the bayou. It’s held each year around Mothers’ Day weekend, the 2nd weekend in May. Presented by San Diego’s Bon Temps Social Club, it features four days of live music with over 100 musical acts and special performances on seven stages, shaded dance floors, delicious southern food including 10,000 pounds of crawfish trucked from Louisiana, non-stop live music, dancing, and family fun at Spanish Landing Park on beautiful San Diego Bay across from the airport. Single-day and multi-day passes are available. Kids 17 & Under are admitted Free with Paid Adult.
The event will feature a variety of concert performances during the four day festival including the Friday Bayou Boogie which will celebrate the 100th birthday of Clifton Chenier “The King of Zydeco”. C.J. Chenier, Sonny Landreth & Marcia Ball will entertain at this concert.
Grammy-nominated C.J. Chenier was born into the musical tradition of southwest Louisiana and Texaszydeco, that upbeat accordion-led musical blend of French Creole and African-derived influences. The son of the great “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier, widely acknowledged as the father of modern zydeco and the first Grammy Award winning musician of the genre, C.J. wasn’t terribly interested in his father’s music as a teenager, leaning more towards R&B, funk and jazz, with the saxophone as his instrument of choice. It wasn’t until his 21st birthday that C.J. first performed with his famous father and the legendary Red Hot Louisiana Band, On the road, his father showed him how to front a world class touring band,teaching C.J. how to run the family business and how to develop his lifelong passion for music into a career.
When Clifton died in 1987, C.J. picked up his accordion and became the band’s leader. In the years since, C.J. has melded his own style with his zydeco legacy, winning acclaim from all quarters, while putting out 10 of his own albums, and appearing on recordings with such luminaries as Paul Simon, Gin Blossoms, and many more. In 2012, C. J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band were nominated for a GRAMMY® in the Best Regional Roots category for their album “Can’t Sit Down”. In addition to his GRAMMY® award nomination in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category. Additionally, C.J. has received many major awards including the Living Blues Critics’ Poll Award, Indie Award (from AFIM) for Best Zydeco Album, Coups de Coeur (Blows of Heart), Blues Category Award from l’Académie Charles Cros (France) and Best of the Beat Best Zydeco Album (Offbeat Magazine).
Other festival performers include Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ BoogieZydeco, C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band, Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys, The Daquiri Queens, Billy Lee & The Gulf Coasters, Bayou Brothers and David Sousa & The Zydeco Mudbugs.
