Zydeco great headlines Mount Helena Music Festival
Published: June 15, 2009
Grammy winner Terrance Simien – one of the leading purveyors of zydeco music and Creole culture – headlines the 10th annual Mount Helena Music Festival, June 26-27.
Simien, who began touring professionally at age 18, won the award in 2008 after helping create a Grammy category for zydeco and Cajun music. Over the past 25 years, he’s shared stages and recorded with such musical luminaries as Stevie Wonder, Los Lobos, Keith Richards, Paul Simons and Dave Matthews.
Jim McHugh, head of Downtown Helena, says the organization has been trying to coax Simien to the Mount Helena stage for the past four years. “It’s a big step for the festival,” he adds.
In addition, this year’s event features “lots of the public favorites” from the previous decade, including bluesman Johnny Rawls, who headlined the first festival; and Lil’ Brian and the Zydeco Travelers, who offer an amped-up, contemporary version of the zydeco sound; and the Clumsy Lovers, a Canadian folk/rock band known for its “finger-picking mayhem.”
Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat deliver Texas blues and rock; Ryan Shupe and The Rubberband supply progressive bluegrass with a “breathtaking blast of manic musical virtuosity”; the Warsaw Poland Bros. play a horn-driven blend of ska, punk and reggae; and the Tropical Montana Marimba Ensemble brings light-hearted Caribbean rhythms to the stage.
New to the festival are Scott Holt, longtime guitarist for fabled bluesman Buddy Guy, and the local band Triple Cross.
This year, festival-goers will enjoy nonstop music on adjacent stages in Women’s Park, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday. Each band performs a 90-minute set, “then people just turn to the right to hear the next one,” McHugh says.
The anniversary won’t go unnoticed by festival organizers. “We feel good about the fact that we’re still in existence, that the price is still affordable, and we’re still catering to those who enjoy good live music in an intimate setting,” he adds.
The festival also includes the Sidewalk Art Mart, open noon-8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, and an expansive farmers’ market. A beer garden and food vendors are also on site.
Festival passes are $18 advance or $20 at the gate, or $12 a day. Students pay just $6 for the weekend and kids seven and under are admitted free (with an adult).
For details, call 447-1535 or go to www.downtownhelena.com.
– Kristi Niemeyer
