American roots music, from blues to zydeco, gets broad play in 2024 Savannah Music Festival

"I'm Coming Home (To See My Mother)" opens with the sound of the instrument that connects Zydeco with other forms of music that originated in and around Louisiana: the accordion.

It's followed by the sound of drums, piano and the crooning voice of Clifton Chenier singing about the universal feeling of missing home and his mother. Chenier is widely considered the "King of Zydeco", a Louisiana-style of music that incorporates other Mississippi Delta. All these styles, gathered under the banner of American Roots Music, is getting broad play at the 35th season of Savannah's Music Festival, which runs for 17 days from March 28 through April 13.

The slate of American Roots performances kicks off on March 29 with the Bayou Boogie, a tribute to Chenier, featuring Marcia Ball and his son, C.J. Chenier & The Red-Hot Louisiana Band.

C.J. grew up knowing that his father was popular but didn't engage with the style until he was older and playing on stage with him. There, he noticed a different reaction than when he played funk music.

"People had fun when we played funk, had a good time, but when we started playing zydeco, we saw people have a great time," C.J. said. "People would go crazy out there. I'd never seen it before, they would get on the tables, and dance and all that stuff."

The roots of zydeco

Zydeco music contains three fundamental instruments: the accordion, the star, and the vest frottior, a washboard that can hang around the shoulders and drums. The style is upbeat with a strong rhythmic core. It's similar to Cajun music in the way that it was inspired by it, and it's typically dancing, fun music, but it also draws on Blues standards and produces complex songs like "I'm Coming Home."

C.J. said the way zydeco sounds today is different from the style his father originated in the 1950s. He wants to keep his Clifton's legacy and what he contributed to the music industry alive through these tributes, educating the audience on this unique form of music.

"He was crowned 'King of Zydeco.' It wasn't a joke to him; it was his life," C.J. said. "And no one can do it like him, not even me."

Cajun music and zydeco are mentioned in tandem, because they both share French and African origins, and an accordion at the center. Cajun music is rooted in ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada, and both contain Louisiana French.

"I think no matter whether you speak a language or not, you can relate to the sounds and feelings that come out of the music. All people can," said Ann Savoy, a member of the Savoy Family Cajun Band, who play on April 6. "It's very rhythmic, it's a wonderful groove, but it has this very sort of sorrowful tone underneath."

Bring on the funk

Funk music, which emerged in the 1960s is also rhythmically based, known for its syncopation on all basslines, drum patterns and guitar riffs. It's also known for its yells, shouts and screams, the call-and-response characteristics reminiscent of praise and worship in Black churches.

"Most of the music we hear today is somehow rooted in the great funk music of back in the day," said Ivan Neville, the founder of Dumpstaphunk, a New-Orleans based funk band. "Musically, it just touches your body, touches your soul. It's a healing thing."

Disco, hip-hop, boogie, contemporary R&B are just some a few of the music forms derivative of funk.

Bringing the Crescent City Funk on April 6 are bands Dumpstaphunk and Cha Wa, which both incorporate elements of funk music.

"It's exactly a mashup of traditional Mardi Gras Indian folk music," said Joe Gelini, the founder of Cha Wa. "It's just accompanied by tambourines and cowbells and any other percussive stuff. In the last 50 years they've started adding bass drums, horns, electric bass, guitar. It's got a good beat that you can dance to."

Mardi Gras Indians are Black New Orleanians who dress up as Native Americans to pay homage to those who helped them live in the wilderness after escaping slavery. Thus, their music is punctuated with elements of Native American and Black influences, the style as much of a melting post as the places it hails from.

Also preforming in the American Roots category on April 10 are the North Mississippi Allstars and Bobby Rush in a tribute to Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, blues singers at the forefront of modern Chicago blues. Two days later on April 12 catch bluegrass music from Mighty Poplar.

If You Go >>

What: Savannah Music Festival's 35th Season

When: March 28-April 13

Where: Various venues around downtown Savannah

Tickets: savannahmusicfestival.org

Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for Chatham County municipalities for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at dambus@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Music Festival spotlights blues, funk, Cajun, zydeco roots