BeauSoleil
| BeauSoleil | |
|---|---|
BeauSoleil
at the 2016 Minnesota State Fair |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | Cajun, zydeco, folk |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels |
Swallow Records Arhoolie Records Rhino Entertainment Vanguard Records Yep Roc Records |
| Website | FlemingArtists.com/beausoleil-avec-micheal-doucet |
| Members | Michael Doucet, David Doucet, Billy Ware, Tommy Alesi, Mitchell Reed |
| Past members | Jimmey Breaux, Errol Verret, Tommy Comeaux, Al Tharp, Bessyl Duhon, Robert Vignaud |
BeauSoleil (French, beautiful sun) is an American musical group specializing in Cajun and Creole music. Based in Lafayette, Louisiana, the group members are brothers Michael Doucet (fiddle, vocals) and David Doucet (guitar, vocals), Billy Ware (percussion), Tommy Alesi (percussion), and Mitchell Reed (bass, fiddle).
Founded in 1975, BeauSoleil (often billed as "BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet") released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well-known bands performing traditional and original music rooted in the folk tunes of the Cajuns and Creoles of Louisiana. BeauSoleil tours extensively in the U.S. and internationally. While its repertoire includes hundreds of traditional Cajun, Creole and zydeco songs, BeauSoleil has also pushed past constraints of purely traditional instrumentation, rhythm, and lyrics of Louisiana folk music, incorporating elements of rock and roll, jazz, blues, calypso, and other genres in original compositions and reworkings of traditional tunes. Lyrics on BeauSoleil recordings are sung in English or Cajun French (and sometimes both in one song).
According to the band's web site, BeauSoleil's musicians "take the rich Cajun traditions of Louisiana and artfully blend elements of zydeco, New Orleans jazz, Tex-Mex, country, blues and more into a satisfying musical recipe."
The band's name is a tribute to Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, the leader of the Acadian resistance to British deportation efforts beginning in 1755. Broussard led the attack against Dartmouth Nova Scotia, in what would become known as the "Dartmouth Massacre". Beausoleil was eventually captured, but following his imprisonment managed to lead 193 exiles to Louisiana before he died in 1765.
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