Cajun Country News Roundup

There's a lot of news coming out of Cajun Country (Southwestern Louisiana) this week, some good, some bad. Here's the breakdown:

• Valcour Records releases their first CD, Cedric Watson and Corey Ledet's "Going Down To Louisiana". The CD is a collection of traditional early Zydeco and pre-Zydeco style numbers featuring the fiddling of Pine Leaf Boy Cedric Watson and Zydeco accordionist Corey Ledet. If this album is any indication of what is to come from Valcour Records, we're in for something special.
• Legendary Zydeco Venue "Richard's Club" to Close. Due to some family disputes, this zydeco hotspot, which has hosted every great zydeco musician, including Clifton Chenier, Boozoo Chavis and John Delafose, will close its doors after Saturday night's zydeco show. This comes less than a year after another legendary club, Hamilton's Place, closed for financial reasons. The closing of Richard's Club is a huge blow to the zydeco community.
• On Saturday, May 13, The Blue Moon Saloon, in Lafayette, LA, will host a benefit, "Archive Aid", featuring Feufollet and Bonsoir Catin, to help save the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Cajun and Creole Music archives. These archives include photographs, recordings and artifacts from nearly one hundred years of Cajun and Creole/Zydeco music history. Many of these recordings were damaged during a University renovation project several years ago, and the archive staff is trying to digitize them all so they can't be damaged again and they will be easier for the public to access. The ULL archives are, by far, one of the most important collections of American musical history that exists. You can help save them, even if you can't attend the benefit. Read more at the Bonsoir Catin website.