NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

7/01/2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES-More than 20 groups reflecting Louisiana's diverse music will perform at the 25th annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival July 16-17 in Prather Coliseum on the campus of Northwestern State University.

Those attending the Festival can hear music ranging from A to Z including acoustic, bluegrass, blues, cajun, country, folk, gospel, rhythm and blues, Western swing, zydeco and more.

Friday daytime performances will include Jeff Rachall and 24-7, a country band from Natchitoches; The Louisiana Purchase Bluegrass Band, a well known bluegrass band from south Louisiana; The Kennedy Family, an African-American gospel group from Natchitoches; The Hoodoo Papas, acoustic musicians from Natchitoches, and Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys, a Cajun band from South Louisiana.

Friday night's show will feature notable Cajun fiddler, Hadley Castille who will play beginning at 7:45 p.m. Castille, a Hall of Master Folk Artists inductee, is one of the most requested musicians who has appeared at the Folk Festival. He will perform a variety of Cajun music

Geno Delafose of Eunice will perform at 9:15 p.m. Delafose cut his musical teeth at the age of seven in his father's legendary John Delafose & the Eunice Playboys ensemble. Along with his house-rocking band, French Rockin' Boogie, Delafose has tapped the wealth of inspiration found in the traditional Cajun and Creole repertoires and created their own rich gumbo of Cajun, zydeco, R&B, country and blues.

On Saturday, performances will include Cajun bands such as Scotty Pousson and the Pointe Aux Loups Playboys and Don Fontenot's Les Amis de La Louisiane; Natchitoches' own Back Porch Band will play as will DeLoutre Bluegrass Band. Blues musician YZ Ealey will perform on Saturday afternoon.

The Saturday Night Show will feature the western swing group River Road Boys and the rhythm and blues of the Hardrick Rivers' Revue.

The River Road Boys have played together for more than 30 years, and each member brings a wealth of musical experience to the group. The River Road Boys play a wide variety of traditional western swing music, and they have been invited to play at a number of festivals and events. They have played at the International Economic Summit of the Seven Industrialized Nations for President George H.W. Bush and other visiting dignitaries and the Southern Governors' Conference. The group has been inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame in San Marcos Texas.

Following the River Road Boys will be Rivers' Revue. Hardrick Rivers, the band's lead musician, has played at the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival for many years, and he and his group-Roque's Blues Band-became locally renowned for their commitment to the blues and for playing at monthly jam sessions at Roque's Grocery. Today, he plays primarily with Rivers' Revue, and he and his musicians play a wide variety of dance music including some blues pieces and 50's music.

The Festival will also feature authentic crafts and a variety of food. This year's Festival theme focuses upon the cultures and folk traditions of the Louisiana's Neutral Strip. The Neutral Strip was about a 40-mile wide strip of land which ran from DeSoto Parish to the Gulf of Mexico and separated Spanish Texas from American Louisiana from 1806-1821. Several narrative sessions will be held to discuss aspects of this colorful time in regional history.

For the first time, the annual Louisiana State Fiddle Championship will be held Saturday, July 17 at 9 a.m. as part of the Festival. The event has been moved from Rebel State Historic Site and Country Music Museum in Marthaville. The champion fiddler will play a set on the main stage as part of the Saturday evening show at the Festival.

Ticket prices are $7 per day for adults; $3 for children age seven through 12. Children six and under are admitted free. An all-event pass is available for advance purchase for $12. Group rates are available, but must be pre-arranged and pre-purchased. For more information, call the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332 or at www.nsula.edu/folklife.

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