HACKBERRY RAMBLERS TO BE FEATURED IN A NEW BOOK ABOUT CAJUN MUSIC

Along with many other Cajun musicians, past and present, The Hackberry Ramblers are the focus of a chapter in the new anthology Accordions, Fiddles, Two Steps and Swing : A Cajun Music Reader. Edited by historians Ryan Brasseaux and Kevin Fontenot, Accordions, Fiddles, Two Steps and Swing has just been published by the Center for Louisiana Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In addition to chapters by Ryan Brasseaux and Kevin Fontenot, contributors include Barry Ancelet, John Broven, Erik Charpentier, Brenda Daigle, Mike Leadbitter, Lauren C. Post, Ann Savoy, and Michael Tisserand, among many others.

The Hackberry Ramblers are featured in Accordions, Fiddles, Two Steps and Swing via a history of the band written by fiddler Luderin Darbone in 1991. Darbone speaks with considerable authority on this topic, since he co-founded The Hackberry Ramblers in 1933 and has led the band ever since. Darbone’s essay follows a detailed introduction by the Ramblers’ drummer and manager, Ben Sandmel. Sandmel’s previously-published work on Louisiana music includes Zydeco! , published in 1999 by the University Press of Mississippi. He is currently at work on a book about the New Orleans rhythm & blues singer Ernie K-Doe.

Accordions, Fiddles, Two Steps and Swing: A Cajun Music Reader will be the focus of a panel discussion at the Louisiana Book Festival at 11:00 AM, on Saturday, October 28th, at the State Capitol building in Baton Rouge, LA. Kevin Fontenot will moderate the panel, with participants Barry Ancelet, André and Louie Michot, and Ben Sandmel.