Video 1: Jeffery Broussard & The Creote Cowboys 1/31/2016 Anchorage Folk Festival
If you are in the mood for Creole/Zydeco music, try listening to Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys. Excerpts from his website including upcoming performances in the USA are listed in this article. I had the great pleasure of hearing him perform with his band. Great to listen to and dancing will happen! I am going to upstate NY at the end of August to meet him and hear him perform. I also plan to interview him. Jeffery Broussard is truly an amazing person, both as a musician and a person who triumphed over many hardships in his life and succeeded in becoming a renowned Zydeco artist.
“Jeffery Broussard has long been respected as one of the greatest accordion players to ever grace our beautiful Creole culture and for that matter the world.” Don Cravins, Sr., Mayor of Opelousas, LA, Zydeco Capital of the World.
One of the most influential accordionists and vocalists in modern Zydeco music, Jeffery Broussard continues to be one of the genre’s most dynamic performers. He has continually been an innovator, beginning his career with traditional Creole Zydeco music playing drums in his father’s band, Delton Broussard & The Lawtell Playboys, then moving on to develop the nouveau Zydeco sound in Zydeco Force, now returning to the more traditional Zydeco sound with his own band, Jeffery Broussard and The Creole Cowboys.
Jeffery Broussard was born in Lafayette, LA on March 10, 1967 to Ethel and Delton Broussard. He is the youngest of 11 children, having 5 brothers and 5 sisters, who all agree that Jeffery was the most spoiled! The family lived in Frilot Cove, LA a rural community northwest of Opelousas, on a farm where his father was a sharecropper. Jeffery grew up fishing in the bayous, riding horses across the fields with his friends, and most of all working hard.
Jeffery’s music career started very early in life, similar to many other famous Zydeco musicians. At the age of 8 he started playing drums in his father’s band, the renowned Delton Broussard & The Lawtell Playboys. After seventh grade, Jeffery left school in order to farm full time to help his parents make ends meet. Jeffery spent long days digging and sorting potatoes.
Whenever he could, Jeffery would sneak in to the house and get his daddy’s accordion down from the closet where it was stored and would teach himself how to play. Each time he would put the accordion up, he would set it on the shelf slightly different. His dad suspected that someone was playing his accordion, but never reprimanded Jeffery for it. When Jeffery was thirteen, his father left sharecropping to work for an oil company and two years later tragedy struck the family when Jeffery’s mother died of cancer.
During his teen years, Jeffery played drums in his oldest brother Clinton’s band, Clinton Broussard & The Zydeco Machines. Clinton plays the old Clifton Chenier-style triple-note accordion. It was in this band that Jeffery played the accordion in public for the first time. His brother would let him play a few songs from time to time, but he was too shy to speak on stage, let alone sing. It wasn’t until he joined the band Zydeco Force that he began singing.
It’s quite possible that without the struggle and hard times that Jeffery has experienced in life, he could not sing and play with the emotion, the soul, he expresses. He has range seldom seen in Zydeco – from traditional songs from the old masters to originals, singlenote and triple-note accordion to fiddle.
Whether he is playing a festival stage in front of thousands of dancers, a small theater of seated patrons, giving an interview, teaching a lesson or playing at a trailride, his warmth, love of the music, and talent shine. Jeffery Broussard is well, the real deal. Dedicated to preserving and promoting the Creole culture and traditional Zydeco music, Jeffery plays with passion and commitment to carry on his daddy’s legacy.
His band members include D’Jalma Garnier, III – Bass Guitar & Fiddle; Paul Lavan, Drums; Bernard Vonte Johnson, Rubboard
His upcoming 2017 USA performances include:
LA, Breaux Bridge; Aug 12, Dance, Zydeco Breakfast
Buck & Johnny’s, 100 Berard St, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 Large Dance Floor, No Smoking 8:00AM to 12:00PM Info: (337) 442-6630
MD, Baltimore, Aug. 25, Dance at Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224-3900, 8:00PM Info: (410) 276-1651
PA, Conshohocken, Aug. 26 Dance Party, Dance Lesson, Zydeco Dance Party! Allons Danser, TK Club, 500 E Hector St, (at Apple St), Conshohocken, PA 19428-1921, Large Vinyl Tile Dance Floor, No Smoking, 7:30PM, Dance lesson 7:30PM, $20 at the door. $10 for students with valid ID. Dance lesson included in price. New dancers welcome. No partners necessary.
NY, Nelson, Aug. 27. The Nelson Odeon, 4035 Nelson Rd, Cazenovia, Nelson, NY 13035-8406 6:00PM to 9:30PM
Info: (315) 655-9193
NY, Marlboro, Aug. 28 Live At The Falcon, 1348 Route 9W, Marlboro, NY 12542-5430, Wood Dance Floor
8:00PM to 10:00PM, Info: (845) 236-7970
CT, New Haven, Aug. 29, Cafe Nine, 250 State St, New Haven, CT 06510-3117 Event Hours 9:00PM to 11:00PM
Info: 203-789-8281
RI, Charlestown Sepdt. 1-3, Dates confirmed, more bands tba
Rhythm and Roots Festival, Ninigret Park, 4900 Old Post Road, Charlestown, RI 02813-1818 Outdoors with tent, Plywood Dance Floor. Annual event. Many other blues and roots performers. Info: (888) 855-6940
LA, Breaux Bridge, Sept. 16. Dance, Zydeco Breakfast
Buck & Johnny’s, 100 Berard St, Breaux Bridge, LA 70517 , Large Dance Floor, No Smoking, 8:00AM to 12:00PM
Info: (337) 442-6630
For further information: creolecowboys@gmail.com
