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W e d n e s d ay, J u n e 18, 2025
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Celebrate the 100th anniversary of ‘King of Zydeco’ Happy early Clifton Chenier Day! The 100th anniversary of the Grammy Hall of Famer’s birth near Opelousas isn’t official until June 25. However, a slew of music releases, tribute shows and memorabilia honoring the King of Zydeco will happen Herman throughout June Fuselier and beyond. Chenier’s music has influenced everyone from Mick Jagger to “Zydeco Boss” Keith Frank. While plans for other activities are still in the works, here’s a working list of ways to enjoy the “Year of Chenier.”
Tribute to the King of Zydeco
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON
Singer-songwriter Vincent Neil Emerson performs with his band at the Red Dragon Listing Room in 2024.
The long-awaited album, featuring the Rolling Stones, Taj Mahal, Lucinda Williams, Charley Crockett and other icons, comes out June 27. A 7-inch vinyl of Jagger singing “Zydeco Sont Pas Sale,” with Chenier’s original on the B-side, is out on Chenier’s birthday, June 25.
After 1,326 shows, Baton Rouge’s Red Dragon
Party Fit for a King The New Orleans Jazz Museum will host a “Year of Chenier” kickoff and fundraiser from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. June 25 at 400 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans. Just like the album sales, proceeds from the event will benefit the new Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship at UL-Lafayette. The Roy House, home of UL’s Center for Louisiana Studies, will also host a fundraiser on June 24.
BY JOHN WIRT
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Contributing writer ince 2002, the Red Dragon Listening Room has been Baton Rouge’s haven for singer-songwriters and their fans. Possibly no one loves the noncommercial singer-songwriter and folk music genres more than Red Dragon founder Chris Maxwell. He’s presented 1,326 shows, beginning at the venue’s original Government Street location and later at the Florida Street address it’s occupied since 2008. The Red Dragon, by any standards, would be described as an atypical music venue — cinderblock walls, a low ceiling, twinkly lights and patrons sitting in rows of sofas, which Maxwell explained help with the acoustics. Plus, its BYOB policy made for a different vibe. People came, as the name suggests, to listen. Maxwell and his wife, Liz, announced their retirement from the Red Dragon in February. Their Songwriter Series at the Manship Theatre will continue, but Tommy Prine’s June 19 and June 20 shows are the last scheduled for the venue. Paul Thorn headlines the next Songwriter Series at Manship Theatre on June 28. He’s among the na-
King of La. Blues & Zydeco Set for a September release, this is a four-CD/six-LP box set
ä See CHENIER, page 2G
THE FLOW OF TIME A traveling oral history project will float down Louisiana’s waterways
Staff report
Starting mid-June, the traveling oral history project, “A Secret History of American River People,” will journey by handmade shantyboat through Louisiana’s waterways. Artist Wes Modes and crew will navigate Bayou Teche and the Atchafalaya Basin, interviewing Cajun and Creole residents and collecting personal stories of life on the bayou. The project documents voices often left out of the official record — stories of resilience, displacement, environmental change and cultural survival. Since 2014, the shantyboat has traveled more than 2,600 miles, gathering river histories for a public archive and hosting pop-up exhibitions along the journey. For more information, visit peoplesriverhistory.org.
STAFF PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS
Owners Chris and Liz Maxwell pause for a photo on the stage of the Red Dragon Listening Room moments before a show on May 30. tionally touring artists who’ll miss the Red Dragon. “It had a great vibe and welcoming vibe,” Thorn said. “I made lots of friends and memories there that I will always cherish.” Maxwell booked one his favorite singer-songwriters, Mike West, for the first Red Dragon show in April 2002. The following month, Chuck Brodsky played the second of the venue’s shows. Maxwell cites the late Guy Clark
as his greatest Red Dragon booking. The Grammy-winning, Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee from West Texas performed there six times before his death in 2016. “Guy Clark put us on the map,” Maxwell said on a recent weekday afternoon at the Red Dragon. “He and Rodney Crowell and Billy Joe Shaver — we got some of the titans,
ä See RED DRAGON, page 2G
How did Saint Katharine Drexel get around? Katharine Drexel was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2001. Drexel used her inherited wealth to found Xavier University in New Orleans but also traveled to Carencro to establish Catholic schools for Black children. FILE PHOTO
BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer
The Our Lady of Assumption Catholic School in Carencro is just a wood-frame building, nothing fancy. It’s not even in use, but it’s still standing in the same spot where Katharine Drexel founded and funded its construction at 410 N. Michaud St., next to Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church. Perhaps its longevity is a
testament to the resilience of the canonized saint’s work, who used her inherited fortune to serve Black and Native American communities throughout the United States. She followed a calling from God to become a nun and founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. This ministry eventually landed her in Carencro,
ä See CURIOUS, page 2G