Steve Riley plays the drums during the Experience Louisiana Festival in Eunice. (Photo by Harlan Kirgan)

Mamou’s Steve Riley to open Hoorah! at Chicot State Park

By Raymond Partsch III Ville Platte Gazette

If an up-and-coming Cajun French musician has a desire to take the stage and hear applause coming from the audience, Grammy-winning musician Steve Riley has a simple piece of advice for those youngsters to follow.
Make sure to earn the respect of those that reside in the birthplace of that beloved music — Louisiana.
“Some of the most magical memories I have are playing here,” said Riley, who has shot to fame with his band Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys. “There’s no better energy than that. It is so great to see young and old hanging on to every note. If you can pass the test of the people down here then you are on your way. Those people know the business better than anyone else.”
Riley and his band mates return to Evangeline Parish this Friday as the band will be performing at this year’s Le Grand Hoorah! at Chicot State Park. Riley and the band will play from 6 to 8 p.m.
“Having been raised in Mamou and hanging around Evangeline Parish most of my life has made me who I am today,” Riley said.
Riley began his musical career as a teenager as he was taken under the wing of the late Cajun fiddler and singer Dewey Balfa. Riley would spend years performing with the local legend, as he would develop his own skills as a musician and performer.
“Dewey was like John Lennon to me,” Riley said. “I met him and started playing as his substitute accordionist. My mom was the principal at Mamou High and I missed plenty of Fridays for those long weekends performing. Dewey was like my grandfather to me. He spent a lot of times telling me stories, he was a genuine great guy.”
During those years with Balfa, Riley learned a multitude of things about performing, touring and the grind of the road but there was one thing that Balfa taught him that made the most lasting impression.
“The way he spoke and presented himself made a big impression on me,” Riley said. “It’s just not about getting up there and playing music. He said you have to educate those people about who we are and where we’re from. You should be proud of be part of this culture. It is who you are.”
Riley would go on to promote the Cajun culture with a hugely successful career of his own. Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys was formed in 1988 and has gone on to release 14 albums and become one of the most popular Cajun French bands of the modern era.
The band has been nominated twice for Grammys in the Best Traditional Folk Album category for “Trace of Time” and “Bon Rêve.” Riley won a Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album for his work with The Band Courtbouillon, which also consists of regional musicians Wayne Toups and Wilson Savoy.
“I have been doing this for 30 years,” said Riley, who is working on a Christmas record to be released later this year. “The playing in front of people is the easy part. The touring and managing part can be tough. It is grind and a constant hustle, but the positives outweigh the negatives. We would not have had the experiences of playing in Russia, Australia, Europe or Japan if it wasn’t for the music.”
For Riley, taking the stage every other night is extremely cathartic.
“Playing music is like the best therapy you can have,” Riley said. “I can be in a bad mood or a sad mood. Once I get on stage and play music with the guys by the third song in, even if it takes that long, I feel great. The reception of the audience never fails.”
In the past year or so, Riley’s audience has gotten younger on occasion, much younger in fact.
That’s because Riley has begun teaching music camps at schools across Acadiana.
“It has been met with great response,” Riley said. “I am really loving it. To sit down with a group of kids that are focused and begin to excel at playing music is an amazing process. It is rejuvenating.
“I am just filling a void. There should be more people doing what I am doing.”
Even though Riley now lives in Scott, returning home to Evangeline Parish where he and his band cut their teeth at such clubs as Snooks and Rumors is something that he is grateful for.
“It is has been a blessing on many levels,” Riley said.
“We are very fortunate to have a home base like this that is this passionate about the music we love.”

Le Grand Hoorah! schedule of events includes the following.
Friday
Food Feature: Cochon De Lait
Opening & Special Presentation (5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.)
Steve Riley & Mamou Playboys (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
Feufollet Band (8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.)
Saturday
Boudin/Beignet Jam Session (10 a.m. to Noon)
Square Dance (Noon to 1:30 p.m.)
Lisa Trahan et L’Esprit Cadien (1:45 p.m. to 3 p.m.)
T’Sale’ Band (3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.)
Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners (5:30 p.m. top 6:45 p.m.)
Ryan School of Irish Dance (7 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.)
Horace Trahan and the Ossun Express (8 p.m. to 10 p.m.)

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