Aaaaannnnnddddd…just in time for end of Mardi Gras and the arrival of Lent I finally finished my new music collection of Louisiana music I’m calling “Bayou Country”. Lately I’ve been Jones-ing for a trip back to New Orleans and I’ve also been slowly but gradually working on getting our entire CD collection uploaded to the PC, so it was this natural confluence of events that led me to just grab all the CDs I’ve collected during past visits to The Big Easy and augment them with music from a bunch of artists I’ve also enjoyed over time.

You think of Louisiana music and its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi, and Texas, and all kinds of influences and genres come to mind: Cajun, zydeco, blues, Dixieland, folk, country, and rock, and cross-overs between each. And, since meandering its way through all of this is the overwhelming presence of the Mighty Mississippi, Louisiana music to me is as much feel and mood as anything else: memories of quiet bayous, the craziness of Bourbon Street, the quaintness of the Vieux Carre, big levees along the Mississippi, trips to antebellum plantations, cane fields swaying in a late afternoon breeze, Grand Isle, a thunderstorm building over Avery Island and the Gulf. Hence, my collection includes a wide variety artists from A (Allen Toussaint, Alison Kraus) to Z (Zydeco Force, Zachary Richard – no relation!) that includes among others:

Aaron Neville and the Neville Brothers
Al Rapone
Allen Toussaint
Ambrose Sam
Amede Ardoin
Bo Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers
Beausoleil
Boozoo Chavis and the Majic Sounds
Buckwheat Zydeco
C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band
Chris Ardoin and Double-Clutchin’
Clifton Chenier
D.L. Menard
Dave Ruffner
Dewey Balfa
Dr. John
Emmylou Harris
Eric Tingstad’s “Mississippi”
Geno & John Delafose
Jimmy Buffett
Keith Frank
LaTouche
Lost Bayou Ramblers
Mark Savoy
Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas
Natural Encounters: Songs of the Mississippi
“O Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack
Queen Ida and The Bon Temps
Rockin’ Dopsie
Rodney Thibodeaux and Tout les Soir
Rosie Ledet
Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band
Terrence Simien
The Band – selections from “The Last Waltz”
“The Big Easy” soundtrack
Zachary Richard
Zydeco Force

My old blogger pal Rob might also have a couple of artists to toss my way – after all, most of these kinds of collections (like my previous Tropical Breezes, Exotica, Hawaiian Style!, Zen Surf, Ragtime, Mood Indigo, and Palm Springs Lounge Lizard) are continually evolving as new artists are identified, but if you look up the above artists on Amazon or the Internet you’ll get an idea of just how unique the music of Louisiana is and the mood it creates. Why, I can practically taste the beignets at Café du Monde and those sizzling chargrilled oysters at the Acme Oyster House!

“Hey Mister, toss me some beads!”