Louisiana Crossroads, the award-winning concert series, radio broadcast and television program, is entering its 12th season with exciting new energy while remaining true to the deep roots that are so highly valued by audiences in Southwest Louisiana and around the world!
- We're building on the original model by reaching out to some high profile artists who fit the series' concept like a glove!
- We're increasing the number of performances from 6 to 8, with most featuring two-night runs in the AcA's world-class James D. Moncus Theater.
- We're continuing our performance relationship with the great city of Lake Charles.
- We're producing an hour-long, superbly shot television pilot, which is poised to reach a vast national and international audience.
- We're continuing to broadcast live on KRVS, reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners in Southwest Louisiana, and untold numbers on the Internet, while jumping up a level in audio quality.
AN EVENING WITH STEVE EARLE
With Joel Savoy, Linzay Young and Dirk Powell
Jan 12 & 13 @ 8:00 PM at the AcA's James D. Moncus Theater
Creative whirlwind Steve Earle has been at the apex of American music for more than thirty years. In addition to releasing Grammy-winning CDs, scoring films, and writing novels, he has a key role in the HBO series Treme, for which he wrote the profoundly moving This City, a song about New Orleans after Katrina. This solo acoustic show will feature collaboration with some of the musicians featured in Treme, including Joel Savoy and Linzay Young, along with friend Dirk Powell.
A TRIBUTE TO LOUISIANA'S LITTLE WALTER, FEATURING JAMES COTTON, WITH HENRY GRAY
March 7 @ 7:00 PM at the Central School Theater, Lake Charles
Tickets for the Lake Charles performances available here: http://www.eventbrite.com/
March 8 & 9 @ 8:00 PM at the AcA's James D. Moncus Theater
Marksville native Little Walter Jacobs, the father of amplified Blues harmonica, hasn't always received recognition for his deep-running Creole roots. We're going to change that! James Cotton is a harmonica legend and Little Walter's peer in every sense, having replaced Walter in Muddy Waters' band in the 1950s. Legendary Louisiana blues pianist Henry Gray also performed with Walter and will treat us to music and stories that only he can tell.
DE TEMPS ANTAN, CEDRIC WATSON, ANNA LAURA EDMISTON AND DAVID GREELY --EXPLORING QUEBECOIS, ACADIAN AND CAJUN/CREOLE CONNECTIONS
April 11 @ 7:00 PM at the Central School Theater, Lake Charles
Tickets for the Lake Charles performances available here: http://www.eventbrite.com/
April 12 & 13 @ 8:00 PM at the AcA's James D. Moncus Theater
The connections between the traditional music of Francophone Canada and Louisiana are undeniable but largely unexplored. This show will take us on that journey, led by world-class performers on both sides of the line. De Temps Antan are at the pinnacle of Quebecois music, featuring virtuoso fiddler André Brunet, along with stellar guitarist and musical scholar Eric Beaudry and master accordionist Pierre-Luc DuPuis. They will collaborate with top Louisiana artists David Greely, Anna Laura Edmiston and Cedric Watson.
ZIGABOO MODELISTE, KING OF THE FUNKY DRUMS
May 9 & 10 @ 8:00 PM at the AcA's James D. Moncus Theater
If you haven't heard Zigaboo's incredibly tight and genre-defining drumming on the original recordings of The Meters, or the pivotal Wild Tchoupitoulas recordings of the 1970s, you've undoubtedly heard one of the countless times he's been sampled during the last several decades. A first generation creator of Louisiana funk, Zigaboo has worked with The Rolling Stones and countless others. This show, featuring his hard-grooving seven-piece band, will be the perfect high-energy closer to the season.
About the Director: 
Dirk Powell joins the Acadiana Center for the Arts team as the new Louisiana Crossroads director. An accomplished musician, songwriter, producer and now director, Powell has noticeably deep roots within the music world. From learning banjo and fiddle at the feet of his grandfather, through founding the Cajun group Balfa Toujours, to extensive recording and film work with such artists as Jack White, Joan Baez, Sting, Loretta Lynn, Levon Helm, and Linda Ronstadt, as well as most of the premier Creole and Cajun artists in Louisiana.
Powell has been involved with the Louisiana Crossroads Concert Series since Season One. He performed at one of the first shows that led to what is now the award-winning signature record label, groundbreaking concert series and, most recently, a TV pilot. A true flagship program for the state�s cultural economy, Louisiana Crossroads promotes a cutting-edge standard for arts and humanities presentation.
"The programming potential for Louisiana Crossroads is largely limitless, since almost all tangents of the world's music run to, from, or through Louisiana at some point in their trajectory,� Powell explains. "I look forward to continuing the exploration of this unique legacy we share with the world in ways that move people and also get them moving. The new season will continue to celebrate the wealth of local Louisiana talent while bringing in some surprises from around the country and the world.�
The Crossroads Series will resume this fall during its regular Fall/Spring season. Excited about the potential of the series and prospective new artists for the season, AcA Executive Director Gerd Wuestemann says, "we couldn�t be more happy with the direction of the series -- we are very excited to have Dirk on board. This next season will see some great changes. Our audience will be able to experience fresh, never-before-seen collaborations between some fantastic artists. But the core mission of the series is still very apparent: to grow a stronger musical infrastructure in our region and within the cultural entertainment industry.�
Dirk Powell Bio:
Dirk Powell combines deep-running roots in American tradition with an overarching artistic vision that speaks poignantly to the audiences of today. Dirk has arrived at a place all his own - one where tradition, innovation and inspiration meet without borders. He has appeared on the Today Show and The Late Show with David Letterman, performed at the Sundance Film Festival and countless music festivals across the globe, scored award-winning documentaries and collaborated on films like "Cold Mountain" as a performer, arranger, actor, composer and consultant.Dirk recently toured with Joan Baez, with whom he played piano, fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, accordion and bass.
"Dirk Powell is proof that the circle remains unbroken.� � The Washington Post
"God gave this one an overdose of talent.� � Joan Baez
"Dirk�s got great subtlety, tremendous feel, and he�s very loose and very modern, in the best sense of the word.� -- T-Bone Burnett
"Hearing Dirk play the fiddle on the set of Cold Mountain, I felt as if my work as an actor had already been done for me." -- Jude Law
Louisiana Crossroads is:
A concert, discussion and broadcast series; a record label; and an economic development initiative launched by the Acadiana Center for the Arts and the Lafayette Economic Development Authority in 2001.
Our innovative, ground-breaking partnership is designed to stimulate the growth of greater infrastructure in our region's burgeoning cultural entertainment industry.
Over the course of more than 160 live events and dozens of live radio and Internet broadcasts, the Louisiana Crossroads concert series has provided a top-notch showcase for regional and visiting artists in an intimate and accessible format.
Through our Louisiana Crossroads Live, Louisiana Folk Masters and Festivals Acadiens Live series, Louisiana Crossroads Records has created a number of acclaimed and unique CD releases.
At our shows, we work to bring artists and audiences closer together through conversation during and after Louisiana Crossroads performances.
In 2005 we were recognized with the first-ever Cultural Economy Development Award at the Louisiana Governor's Arts Awards, and our work has also been recognized by OffBeat magazine and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
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