‘Creole Cultural Ambassador’ brings Zydeco to Bethel Woods

By SANDY LONG

BETHEL, NY — When the sweet-voiced Grammy-Award-winning ‘Creole Cultural Ambassador’ Terrance Simien takes the stone Terrace Stage at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on July 23, don’t expect to keep your seat. The sizzling good-time groove that Simien and the Zydeco Experience generate is one that people around the world find hard to resist, and for good reason.

“Zydeco music is a world music,” said Simien, an eighth-generation native Louisiana Creole. “People from around the world recognize something in it. As soon as you hear it, you get a smile on your face. You feel the energy, and you start moving and dancing.”

An important part of Simien’s work involves raising awareness of the history of Zydeco, the indigenous music of the black and multiracial French speaking Creoles of Louisiana.

The music draws upon various cultural influences and traces its roots down lines that are French, Spanish, Native American, German and more. That’s one reason people respond to its sense of familiarity. “It’s like there’s something for everyone,” said Simien of the blended and yet distinctive sound.

The spirited music is partly defined by the instruments that are its trademark—the accordion and a unique percussion instrument called the Frottior (French for “friction strip”) or rubboard. Fashioned after the washboard used to scrub clothing, the rubboard was created in 1946 specifically for Zydeco music. The accordion, on the other hand, was introduced by German immigrants after the Civil War.

As part of its Arts Under the Stars series, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts’ new Terrace Stage, featuring a tiered amphitheatre-style setting, will likely see some highly energized dancing under the stars as Simien and his band break out their sound, described as “a hypnotic blend of Zydeco-roots-New Orleans funk-reggae flavored–Afro-Caribbean-world music.”

Earlier this year, Simien garnered a 2008 Grammy for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album, a new category that he and his wife/business partner, Cynthia, helped to establish. As Zydeco continues to evolve, it fuses the traditional sound with elements of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, reggae, funk, soul and more. Simien continues to refine his own version of Zydeco, weaving various influences into the sound. “I like a lot of different styles, and I’m open to different things,” he noted.

For more than 25 years, Simien has enjoyed the privilege of making the music he loves and sharing the message he cares about. “I’m a lucky man,” he said.

Visit www.bethelwoodscenter.org for more information.