Pine Leaf Boys

Once a product of the college scene around Lafayette, Louisiana, the Pine Leaf Boys have, in a relatively short time, become world phenoms. They recently completed a three-day gig at the Edmonton Folk Festival and moved on directly to northern Europe for a series of festivals. In April, the Boys traveled to the Middle East at the invitation of the State Department and played at colleges in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Along the way, the band has managed to pick up two Grammy nominations and won the Big Easy Best Cajun Band award three years in a row. Part tradition, part vibrant future, the Pine Leaf Boys' music sounds like something crackling through an old radio in a house set way back in the swamps about the time of the Great Depression. For the seasoned Cajun music veteran, they recall the early giants like Amede Ardoin; for the unfamiliar, they sound like a fun party band, as everything the Boys do has an infectious dance quality that screams that well-known Louisiana battle cry, "Let the good times roll."