Cajun
Kaplan, Louisiana
When Cajun accordionist and bandleader Donny Broussard makes his Richmond debut at this year’s festival, audiences will enjoy a rare opportunity to see a master musician who seldom performs outside his home state. Some of the world’s best traditional musicians dedicate their whole lives to the community in which they live, rarely recording or touring, but rather putting all their energy into cultural preservation and communal joy in their home place. Count Donny among this group. Joined by his longtime band, the Louisiana Stars, Donny is a musical hidden gem with deep roots in southwest Louisiana, long deserving of greater attention.
Cajun music is rooted in the traditions of the French-speaking Acadians who were expelled from Nova Scotia by the British in 1755. They settled in southwest Louisiana alongside Native Americans, Spanish, Germans, and French Creoles of African descent. Out of this rich cultural gumbo, a distinctive Cajun music emerged that fed the community spirit at house parties and dance halls across the bayou and prairie. Donny Broussard & the Louisiana Stars play this music in the traditional way, with Francophone singing rising over a band powered by accordion and fiddle, keeping dancers on the floor through gliding waltzes and lively two steps.
Donny Broussard’s grandfather Will Marceaux founded the Louisiana Stars in 1944. As a kid growing up with his French-speaking grandparents in a three-generation household in Vermillion Parish, Donny idolized his grandfather, and wanted nothing more than to play Cajun accordion just like him. Will’s accordion, however, produced necessary income for the family, so as Broussard now explains, “I had to learn the accordion behind his back because he wouldn’t let us kids mess with his equipment.” He would wait until his grandfather went out to milk the cows before stealing time to teach himself to play. He recounts that he was about eight when his grandfather finally caught on and snuck back from the barn to spy on him. “But by that time,” Donny recalls, “I knew how to play, so he was really excited.” Determined to join the Louisiana Stars, Donny taught himself bass. “I wanted to play in the band so bad,” he remembers, “I had to learn an instrument they didn’t have.” He formally joined the band in 1976, when he was just 12 years old, later moving to steel guitar. After his grandfather passed away, the rest of the band asked Donny to take the mantle of accordionist and lead singer. He has led the band—which now includes Joey Dugan (bass and vocals), Stanley Benoit (steel guitar and vocals), Dwayne Lavergne (drums), and Clint Ward (fiddle)—for nearly 35 years.
For Donny Broussard, playing music is just one facet of a life lived in community—his full-time job is vice president of Vermillion Bank in downtown Kaplan. Broussard also records French-language shows on the local public radio affiliate, and his musical mentorship has extended to numerous younger players. It’s a challenge to balance it all, but, as he says, “You have to do it to keep the culture going.” The same joy that drove him to study his grandfather’s instrument in secret has led to a lifetime of playing the music that binds together a community that recognizes him as one of their most beloved stars.