Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas
Zydeco Dance Party
At the Charles H. Morris Center/6, 8 & 10 p.m. March 30
Consisting almost entirely of brothers, cousins and sundry relatives from Creole-speaking St. Martinville, in South Louisiana, this is a high-energy zydeco band playing that proud-stepping Delta dance music for your party pleasure. In the center is Clifton Chenier disciple Nathan Williams on accordion, who infuses his music with a distinctly Caribbean lilt, in classic Creole style. Williams is a singer, a storyteller and a showman. The Cha Chas, like all the best zydeco dance bands, have a rubboard player and electric guitarist - the better to bring out the funky R&B and bluesy rock elements in the music - plus bass and drums. The drummer, in fact, is Herman "Rat" Brown, who was the skinsman for Buckwheat Zydeco for many a year. On keyboards is Nathan Williams Jr., also known as "Lil' Nate," a University of South Louisiana music student who leads his own band in Lafayette when he's not on the road with Dad.
Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas have an April 28 show at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. See zydecochachas.com
