The Balfa Brothers were legends of Cajun music, the music of French Louisiana. In 1937, Dewey Balfa was ten years old when he started joining his father and older brother in the family band. A few years later, he convinced his brothers to take the band on the road, a few miles down the road to Hick’s Wagonwheel Club. Dewey convinced his brothers Will, Harry, Rodney, and Burkeman to perform eight dances a week. But the number of performances decreased as the popularity of rock and roll started to rise in the 1950s.
Dewey worried about the future of the unique Cajun sound, realizing it was not being passed to many of the youth of French Louisiana. In 1964, he was called in as a last minute replacement on guitar to perform with a local Cajun band at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Dewey was surprised to see seventeen thousand people cheering for more with repeated standing ovations.
This enthusiastic response was a major turning point for Dewey, who went home with a new sense of pride in his culture and his music. He got his brothers playing again and started bringing their passionate music to festivals across the nation. Soon the brothers were performing in Western Europe. It was The Balfa Brothers who introduced Cajun music to a national and international audience. Furthermore, the continuing popularity of Cajun sounds is evidence to the phenomenal mix of charisma and good humor they brought to this ancient dance music from the bayou country.
Sadly, Dewey lost his brothers Will and Rodney in an automobile accident in 1979. To add to that already horrific loss, his wife Hilda passed away in 1980. These combined tragedies were almost enough to bring him down, but he realized that his only choice was to carry on with the goal he had set for himself and his only relief from the suffering was the music itself. He increasingly began playing and travelling again, earning a National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982.
Throughout the 1980s he shared his music with countless audiences and taught many workshops as musicians from around the country became attracted to Cajun music. He continued playing until his death in June of 1992, when he succumbed to cancer.
The family tradition continues with guitarist and singer-songwriter Christine Balfa, daughter of Dewey Balfa. She founded the band Balfa Toujours along with her husband; musician, musicologist, and historian Dirk Powell.
Discography:
The Balfa Brothers Play Traditional Cajun Music (Swallow Records, 1967)
The Cajuns (Sonet Records, 1972)
The Good Times are Killing Me (Swallow Records, 1972)
J’ai Vu le Loup, Le Renard et la Belette (Cezame, 1975; re-released Rounder Records, 1988)
Grand Basile (Discovale, 1975)
Lâche Pas La Patate ! (Expression Spontanée, 1976)
Cajun Days (Sonet, 1979)
The New York Concerts (Swallow Records, 1980)
Arcadian Memories (Ace, 1986)
Cajun Fais Do-Do (Arhoolie Records, 1995)
The Balfa Brothers and Nathan Abshire: The 1970 NYC Cajun Concert (Field Recorders Collective, 2008)
The Balfa Family: A Retrospective – Festivals Acadiens et Créoles 1977-2010 (Valcour Records, 2012)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.