Experts from article by Victoria Dodge and Ashley White, The Daily Advertiser: Emerson “Ray” Abshire, a beloved Cajun musician and Louisiana Folk Artist Hall of Famer, passed away suddenly on February 25, 2020. He was the owner and operator of Magnolia Torque and Testing, Inc., which specializes in hydraulic torquing and hydrostatic testing. But Abshire was probably best known as a Cajun musician who played with many artists, including the Balfa Brothers. He passed his love for music down to his two sons, Travis and Brent. Ray grew up in the “dance hall era,” playing in front of a couple hundred people. 

“It’s hard to find a nicer man than Ray,” said Herman Fuselier, executive director at St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission and host of Zydeco Stomp on KRVS. “When Philip Gould and I were working on our dance hall book, Ray took an entire Sunday to ride us all over south Louisiana to show us places he used to play. Most of them are now empty lots, but Ray was full of stories and memories. It showed the type of guy he was, always willing to help.”

Abshire, who was born near Gueydan, toured the nation with the Balfas for seven years. He was invited to join the band in 1969 when health issues started to sideline his cousin, Cajun accordion great Nathan Abshire. “I didn’t know it then, but I had got an invitation to the greatest institution in the world to learn traditional Cajun music — the Balfa Brothers band,” Abshire told The Daily Advertiser in 2014. “I didn’t recognize that for years to come. It didn’t start sinking in until after I got out of music.” Abshire was one of the last links to the Balfa Brothers, a pivotal band that greatly inspired today’s pride in Cajun music, language and culture. In 1974, he played with the Balfa Brothers during the first Tribute to Cajun Music in a stormy March afternoon.

Abshire’s second son was born a year after the Tribute to Cajun Music, forcing him to leave the bandstand and work in the oilfield for 18 years. In the early 1990s, Abshire heard a familiar, twin-fiddle Cajun sound played by Balfa Toujours, a band founded by Christine Balfa, daughter of Balfa Brothers great Dewey Balfa. Abshire helped keep that Balfa tradition of acoustic accordion, fiddle and guitar alive. He went on to teach accordion at music camps and workshops throughout the country. He was inspired to record his first album, “For Old Time Sake,” which featured Balfa Toujours fiddlers Courtney Granger and Kevin Wimmer and won the Cajun French Music Association’s Best First Recording Award.
mily, close like brothers and admirable like a father. 

Abshire’s sons Travis and Brent became interested in Cajun music. In 2013, they recorded the “All Night Long” CD.”They always listened to the music, but didn’t start playing until they were in their late 20s,” said Abshire in 2013. “They both went to college, then all of a sudden they started paying attention to how the Abshire family has contributed to music heritage in Louisiana.”

Abshire is survived by his wife of 48 years, Peggy S. Abshire; his two sons, Travis and Brent; his mother and stepmother, two brothers and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Emerson Abshire.

Photo: With an image of the Balfa Brothers behind him, Ray Abshire performs at the 2006 Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. (Photo: David Simpson)