Vermilionaire

“LBR’s youthful vigor, unpolished rawness and passion are often confused with rockabilly or punk rock influences, when in fact these uncontainable energies were present in the Cajun repertoire long before the first hotrod laid rubber on Main Street or The Ramones eyed their first black leather jacket. Still, while LBR may not need amps, their intensity and talent goes up to 11, a sound that makes dyed in the wool seem like an iron-on decal. ”
-Nick Pittman, The Independent, Lafayette, LA January 2007

They make you feel like they’re bringing you back home. Kind of like if you are out of town for a long time, getting homesick and then you hear a song from Louisiana, it makes you homesick. That’s how their band makes me feel when I hear them at home: homesick.”
-Lisa Stafford, Programming Director, Festival International, Lafayette, LA.

“If accordians, fiddles and pedal steel guitars were weapons, these guys could simply slay you.”
-Glenny Brock, Birmingham Weekly, Birmingham, AL

“In 1927 and 2005, Louisiana nearly washed away, but not the music. Lost Bayou Ramblers (and brothers) Louie and Andre Michot grew up in deep Cajun country, where the soil itself is musical, learning fiddle and accordion from family members and Floyd’s Record Shop. Their second album Bayou Perdu (Swallow) could be a Library of Congress recording, Cajun music’s 21st century rebirth, or both.”
-Christopher Gray, Austin Chronicle, January 2007

Over the past 300 years, a cultural amalgam has been percolating in south Louisiana. The resulting cultural distillate gave rise to both Bayou Country’s world famous cuisine and a musical concentrate that conveys the passions, tribulations, and elations of the Cajun people. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the Lost Bayou Ramblers are the keepers of the flame, champions of Cajun music’s cultural past.

Growing up in Pilette, Louisiana (between Broussard and Lafayette), Louis (fiddle and vocals) and Andre (accordion) Michot were immersed in roots Cajun music from birth, primarily since their father and uncles were already touring the world playing traditional songs as the band Les Freres Michot. After a decade of “initiation” on triangle, guitar, and bass, Andre and Louis felt they were prepared to take on the lead instruments – accordion and violin – and pick up the torch as the next generation in the evolution of their musical heritage. When the brothers matched up with Chris “Oscar” Courville’s bass-stomp centered drumming, Alan LaFleur’s heavy-thumping upright bass and Cavan Carruth’s hard-chocking rhythm guitar, the band began to play their “deep swamp beat” around Acadiana and eventually all over the United States. Since starting out in 1999 they have added dozens of original songs to compliment their vast Cajun repertoire of hundreds of early accordion dancehall tunes, pre-century fiddle tunes, and Cajun swing. It all mixes together to form a definitive sound – capturing the “roots” spirit of their culture’s unique music while initiating a renewed cultural identity and pride among their generation.

The Lost Bayou Ramblers have toured through much of the United States, including performances at the International Country Music Conference in Nashville, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens’ Chile Pepper Fiesta, and the New Orleans Jazz Fest and historic Preservation Hall. Their most recent releases, a la Blue Moon (2007 GRAMMY NOMINEE) and Vermilionaire are receiving critical acclaim across North America and Europe. Whether performing in their native Louisiana or abroad, the Lost Bayou Ramblers passionately embrace their cultural and musical heritage, playing music intimately linked to the agrarian, working class lifestyle. Their music stems from a time before electricity, when the Gulf Coast’s incapacitating heat only amplified the backbreaking stresses associated with the toil necessary to sustain a successful farm. Indeed, south Louisiana’s work ethic was the natural force that ground through the Cajun ego, liberating in song the fervor and spirit of a people. The Lost Bayou Ramblers are like a snapshot of a bygone era. Their music is emotionally raw, intense – in a word, authentically Cajun.