GRAMMY award-winning and nominated musicians from Acadiana
Music has been the soul of Acadiana since the area's humble beginnings, with a melting pot of Cajuns, Creoles, European, and Native American cultures inspiring fresh new sounds. South Louisiana has fostered folk music, country, rock, rhythm and blues, and new genres like Zydeco and Swamp Pop have risen from the bayous. While Acadiana is much smaller than other music cities like Nashville, Memphis, and Austin, the area is fertile ground for many GRAMMY-nominated artists and 16 coveted golden gramophones.
Image courtesy of Philip Gould
King of Zydeco Clifton Chenier received the GRAMMY's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014, putting Acadiana's musicians in the same category as Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Hank Williams, The Beatles, and Aretha Franklin. How's that for getting a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T?
Area musicians once dominated the short-lived "Best Zydeco or Cajun Music" category before it was folded into the "Best American Roots" and "Best Regional Roots" categories. In recent years, Acadiana has expanded its footprint in the music world, with local artists garnering attention in various categories, including Contemporary Christian, Country, Folk, and Gospel.
Image courtesy of LaurenDaigle.com
This year, Zydeco musician Sean Ardoin And Kreole Rock And Soul was nominated in the Best Regional Roots Music Album for his album 25 Back To My Roots.
Visitors can hear GRAMMY-winning and nominated musicians at a variety of live music venues around town, like Blue Moon Saloon, Rock'n'Bowl, Hideaway on Lee and Acadiana Center for the Arts, as well as special events like the free fall and spring concert series throughout the area, Louisiana Crossroads, Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, and Festival International.
Acadiana's GRAMMY Winners Through the Decades
2024
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra with Lost Bayou Ramblers
"Live: Orpheum Theater Nola"
Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & the Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
"New Beginnings"
Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album
2018
Lauren Daigle
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
"You Say"
Lauren Daigle
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
"Look Up Child"
2017
Lost Bayou Ramblers
Best Regional Roots Music Album
"Kalenda"
2014
Jo-El Sonnier
Best Regional Roots Music Album
"The Legacy"
2014
Clifton Chenier
Lifetime Achievement Award
2013
Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience
Best Regional Roots Music Album
"Dockside Sessions"
2012
Steve Riley, Wilson Savoy, Joel Savoy and Wayne Toups
Best Regional Roots Music Album
"The Band Courtbouillon"
2011
Clifton Chenier
Grammy Hall of Fame inductee
"Bogalusa Boogie"
2010
Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band
Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album
"Zydeco Junkie"
2009
Buckwheat Zydeco
Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album
"Lay Your Burden Down"
2008
BeauSoleil
Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album
"Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival"
2007
Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience
Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album
"Live! Worldwide"
1997
BeauSoleil
Best Traditional Folk Album
"L'Amour ou La Folie"
1985
Rockin' Sidney
Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
"My Toot Toot"
1983
Clifton Chenier
Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
"I'm Here"
1982
Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band
Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording
"On Tour"
Notable Nominees
Musicians with Cajun roots have been nominated dozens of times at the GRAMMYs. A few recent nominees include Corey Ledet, Sean Ardoin, Barry Ancelet, Sam Broussard, Dr. Josh Caffery, Koryn Hawthorne, Hunter Hayes, Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars, Yvette Landry, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, The Revelers, Sweet Cecilia, Cameron Dupuy And The Cajun Troubadours, among others.
Country music sweetheart Hunter Hayes rose to fame in 2011 when his debut album reached No. 1 on the country charts. He has been nominated five times for "Best New Artist." Past winners in this category have included John Legend, Adele, and Carrie Underwood.
The Savoys are the area's most-nominated family. Joel Savoy of Valcour Records is a GRAMMY-winning recording engineer, record producer, and a nine-time GRAMMY nominee. His mother, Ann Savoy, has been nominated four times, including twice with the band "The Magnolia Sisters." Joel's brother Wilson Savoy has been nominated four times with his band "The Pine Leaf Boys" before winning a GRAMMY with "The Band Courtbouillon," where he collaborated with his brother. Wilson and his mother were up against each other for "Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album" in 2009 but were beaten out by another local group, Buckwheat Zydeco.
In 2021, Sweet Cecilia was nominated for A Tribute to Al Berard. The group comprises two daughters and a niece of the late Al Berard, a Grammy-nominated Cajun musician. Cameron Dupuy and the Cajun Troubadours were also nominated that year for their eponymous album Cameron Dupuy and the Cajun Troubadours.
In 2022, Sean Ardoin and Kreole Rock and Soul received a nomination for "Live in New Orleans!" Also nominated is Corey Ledet Zydeco for the self-titled album "Corey Ledet Zydeco"
In 2023, Lauren Daigle is nominated again for "Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song" and "Contemporary Christian Music Album."
In 2024, other Lafayette nominees in the "Best Regional Roots Music Album" include Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band - New Beginnings; Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers - Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival; and Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra - Live: Orpheum Theater Nola who tied for the award.