Buckwheat Zydeco

If you’ve gotten into zydeco music, or felt its influence, or watched the world celebrate this great aspect of Louisiana culture over the past 30+ years, it’s likely been because of Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, Jr.  No other zydeco artist has come close to selling as many records, and the band claims the three largest selling zydeco albums of all time.  Jimmy Fallon even chose him to open the final episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with “On A Night Like This,” the title track of the 1987 album responsible for bringing the unique sound of zydeco into the musical mainstream.

Born in 1947, Buckwheat started his career on the Hammond B3 organ but a relationship with the legendary Clifton Chenier – to whom Buck always pays homage as the King of Zydeco – led him to take up the accordion in 1978.  It was a good move:  since then, “Buck” has gigged with everyone from Eric Clapton and U2 to The Boston Pops, performed for presidential inaugurals, and even closed out a Summer Olympics.  Buckwheat Zydeco celebrated its 30^th anniversary in 2009 and capped it with the release of the Grammy Award-winning Alligator CD, Lay Your Burden Down. Raves the New York Times, “Dural leads one of the best bands in America. A down-home and high-powered celebration, meaty and muscular with a fine-tuned sense of dynamics…propulsive rhythms, incendiary performances.”  Sounds like Lotus to us!  Don’t miss this sizzling start to Festival weekend.

Thursday, Sept. 24

Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 7:00pm-9:00pm

Buckwheat Zydeco in “What You Gonna Do?” [Live at Clearwater Festival] – Buckwheat’s World #2