Savoy Family Cajun Band bringing world-class sound to Experience Louisiana Festival

Loves moves people to do many things, and passion carried Ann Savoy into the Cajun music industry.
“I met Marc Savoy at the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C., in 1976,” Savoy said. “I was a French major at Mary Baldwin College and was very enamored with the way he spoke French and played the Cajun accordion. I had heard and fallen in love with some old Cajun 78 records before I met Marc, so I was fascinated with the whole idea of a French culture in Louisiana.”
In the nearly four decades since that fateful festival, Ann went on to marry Marc and with him, formed the Savoy Family Cajun Band, which also includes their sons, Joel and Wilson.
Savoy herself has been nominated four times for Grammys, written a book about Cajun music, which received a national award, and recorded at least 20 albums of Cajun music with the family band as well as the Savoy Doucet Cajun Band, the Magnolia Sisters and the Savoy Smith Cajun Band. Savoy also has a swing jazz band called Ann Savoy and her Sleepless Knights. Savoy plays the guitar, fiddle, Cajun accordion, banjo mandolin, autoharp and dulcimer.
The musician believes that the traditional music is what draws people to the area.
“I think it is important to help preserve whatever makes any area unique,” Savoy said. “If everything becomes homogenized there will be no reason to travel!”
Savoy will help to sustain the Cajun culture when she and the Savoy Family Cajun Band perform at the Experience Louisiana Festival at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at LSU Eunice.
“Eunice is the Cajun Prairie capital — we need to tastefully celebrate and show off what comes from our area that is unique,” she said.
Savoy said she is also looking forward to hearing “lots of great bands” at the festival.