Sarah Savoy & the Francadians

Thu 19 - 25 Jan

Music

Top-drawer Cajun sounds with added Rockabilly swagger

The Cajun music tradition is one of the most protected in American roots music, a heritage handed down through generations and along the branches of the family tree. It was therefore something of a given that Sarah Savoy would follow the family trade--Pop is Marc Savoy, the eminent musician and the leading accordion maker in Louisiana, while Mom is Ann Savoy, another acclaimed musician and the author of Cajun Music: A Reflection of A People.

Not that young Sarah is merely the current caretaker of a trapped-in-amber tradition. Although her band is undeniably a Cajun outfit (plenty of mournful fiddle and wheezing accordion), she also occasionally injects her sound with the twang of Western Swing and the strut of rockabilly. The result is a winning lesson in how to freshen up a tradition while keeping a firm grasp of its roots.