Cajun
Estherwood, Louisiana
Photo courtesy of artist
Referring to themselves as “just a couple of young guys playing Cajun music,” Seth Spell & Cajun Strong are an emerging Cajun music quintet that prides itself on its deep connections to the music’s lineage. “We love to play the music that is older than we are,” says bandleader Spell. The youthful band has attracted an enthusiastic following in the dance halls of south Louisiana, where they’re based, and have been branching out to conquer parts of Texas, particularly Houston.
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. Traditionally, the fiddle was the central instrument, to be joined by the accordion in the late 19th century. In the 20th century came influences from country and western, as well as blues, eventually creating the music emblematic of Cajun culture today.
Hailing from Estherwood, Louisiana, Spell became immersed in Cajun music when he began playing his dad’s accordion at age 12. It was when he met Kegan Navarre at a jam session that the Cajun Strong story begins. Navarre, from Jennings, Louisiana, is one of the great-grandsons of Ira “Iry” Lejeune, a beloved accordion master credited with repopularizing the instrument within Cajun music in the late 1940s and early ’50s, steering it away from Texas swing-based influences, a move later considered as a Cajun renaissance. This period saw the re-centering of the accordion within the band over the pedal steel guitar. Kegan’s grandfather Ervin Lejeune was also a prominent player, and it was on his accordion that Kegan taught himself the basics.
Seth and Kegan lead a band that includes fiddler Mitch Shexnyder, from Indian Bayou Louisiana; steel guitarist Donovon Bourque, from Beaumont, Texas; and Iota, Louisiana's Cody LaFluer on drums. The group is renowned for their skills as multi-instrumentalists, often switching off roles during sets. Donovon plays the steel but, depending on the song, will pick up the accordion, rhythm guitar, fiddle, bass, and even play drums. Seth, who primarily plays the accordion, also performs on fiddle and rhythm guitar, and often swaps accordion for bass with Kegan. Mitch also plays steel, and drummer Cody will often contribute rhythm guitar. Vocals are also shared; Seth, Kegan, and Donovon take turns on lead, each with their characteristic color that speak to Cajun music’s unique vocal style. Some of the band’s primary influences are what they call “the greatest musicians,” the figures that started the progressive, accordion-heavy “fais do-do” style of the music championed by Kegan’s great-granddad Lejeune.
Although the members of Cajun Strong are winning over audiences with their fresh-faced energy and forward-facing enthusiasm, the band’s style is rooted in the past. They maintain a strong fidelity to Cajun music’s enduring legacy. Whatever the moniker, this is a band determined to spark what Spell calls “a very intriguing interest in the accordion.... We show the world how powerful and moving the sounds of our beautiful Cajun music can be.”