Back in the early days of KXCI 91.3, the community radio stationβs monthly House Rockinβ fundraising concert series regularly brought in the biggest names of zydeco, from Queen Ida and the Bon Temps, who opened the series in 1986, to Terrance Simien & the Mallet Playboys, Zachary Richard and Beausoleil.
βThose shows were so legendary back in the early days,β said Marty Kool, the longtime host of KXCIβs Blues Review show who attended most of those events. βI think zydeco was hot at the time and a lot of the real great figures of zydeco were still alive. So we had Queen Ida and we had Rockinβ Dopsie and Beausoleil.β
Queen Ida was a repeat headliner of the House Rockinβ series, which was held at El Casino Ballroom until 1991, when a powerful wind storm tore off a large section of the venueβs roof. After a two-decade absence, the series returned in 2013 when local Americana and country promoter Jeb Schoonover resurrected it as the House Rockinβ Blues Review in conjunction with the release of former Tucson music reporter and filmmaker Daniel Buckleyβs documentary on El Casino.
For its 10th anniversary show this weekend, Schoonover and Kool, who coordinate the annual fundraising concerts for KXCI, are bringing zydeco back to the series for the first time in more than 30 years. Veteran Louisiana accordion player Dwight Carrier and his BlackCat Zydeco band will headline the show on Friday, Aug. 4, at El Casino Ballroom, 437 E. 26th St.
βZydeco was probably our most popular shows with Queen Ida, C.J. Chenier and Beausoleil, so Marty and I have been scheming to get a zydeco band this year,β Schoonover said.
Kool said Carrier, whoβs known as βThe Black Cat,β is a perfect fit for the series and its history of hosting events that make good use of El Casinoβs historic wooden dance floor.
βEl Casino has one of the largest wooden dance floors in Arizona. Itβs made for dancing,β Kool said, adding that House Rockinβ shows are big dance parties more than anything. βNo matter how many people we get in or what kind of band it is, itβs all about getting people out there on that dance floor.β
Fridayβs event is the first time Carrier, the third generation to carry on the familyβs legacy in zydeco music, has performed in Tucson since he was here last in 1989 or 1990 with JoJo Reed and the Happy Hill Zydeco Band, he said. Carrier, whose familyβs zydeco history goes back to the 1920s and includes his legendary cousins BeyBey and Calvin Carrier, has a style that borrows from Caribbean, Creole and blues.
βItβs almost an African-Caribbean blues style mixed together. Thatβs how I would define it,β said the 48-year-old, who, as a kid, was oblivious to any music that wasnβt tied to zydeco.
βI didnβt know anything about R&B back then. When I was young, nobody was listening to it,β he said. βWe would barbecue and cook and all that stuff and old men would play and I was the one, with my brother, who would watch them play.β
His dad played accordion, and Dwight started playing drums and rubboard, the percussion washboard instrument played with spoons. By 12, he added accordion to his arsenal and singing, and by 13 was playing professional gigs in clubs, for trail rides and at parties and receptions.
Carrier recalled going to New York in 1989 to represent Louisiana at the Benson & Hedges Blues Festival. He was 14, and his parents sent him and his brother alone.
βWe were literally kids. I remember my mother crying when we got on the plane,β he said during a phone call last month from home in Louisiana. βI tell you we were literally some kids with Etta James, Johnnie Taylor, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, people I didnβt know until I got older that, oh my God, I played with all these people.β
Buckwheat Zydeco Sr., who was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success, was an early mentor. Carrier also took cues from his famous family, including his cousins Chubby Carrier and Dale Carrier, and his uncle Andrew Carrier, who is still performing into his late 70s.
Before the pandemic, Carrier and his five-piece band were doing as many as 150-200 shows a year, from club and theater gigs to festivals and fairs. He said he is trying to get back to that number now as zydeco is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, largely because more white artists are getting involved.
βItβs huge. Zydeco is going to be in the mainstream soon,β he predicted. βItβs really big and itβs spreading. Back in the day, white people wouldnβt play it; they would play Cajun music. But now the white people are playing it. They have white zydeco bands now. Zydeco has grown tremendously.β
Carrier said audiences also seem to have rediscovered the genre.
βWhen they see that accordion and rubboard, they are like, what the hell is going on here? What is that Black guy doing with an accordion?β he said. βAnd then people go crazy for the wash board. They just never thought of that as an instrument, but it really makes a distinctive sound. ... Itβs an instrument that nobody else has in their band. When they see that thing, people go crazy especially if someone is rubbing it right.β
Kool said the zydeco-style washboard adds percussion that enhances the genreβs Afro-Caribbean and creole sound.
βYou hear even Latin rhythms sometimes in zydeco,β he said. βDwightβs got a lot of soul and R&B in his music, but still some very old zydeco soul.β
Kool said he expects to see people flood the El Casino dance floor as soon as Carrier and his band start playing.
βItβs infectious, in a good way,β he said.
Doors to Fridayβs show open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30. Admission is $20 for KXCI members and $25 for non-members in advance through kxci.org; itβs $30 at the door.