WOMAD

Sarah Savoy & The Francadians

From France, United States

Sarah Savoy & the Francadians are a group of dedicated musicians based in Paris, France, led by Louisiana-born and -raised Sarah Savoy. Brought up by two of the most influential names in Cajun music, Sarah fronts this band of French musicians David Rolland (Stompin' Crawfish, Daisy Belle, Villaine Maniere), Vincent Blin, and Manolo Gonzales as if it were any group of similarly young musicians playing in the Cajun heartland of Lafayette, Louisiana, where Sarah got her start. With the Francadians, Sarah performs traditional Cajun and Zydeco music, reaching back as far as the earliest roots of Louisiana music with covers of Amedee Ardoin, Joe and Cleoma Falcon, and Iry LeJeune, among others.

The band's original songs, written by Sarah Savoy and long-time Savoy family friend Gerard Dole, provide Sarah with an opportunity to speak with a voice until now virtually unheard in traditional Cajun music. Sarah sings in celebration of the modern woman, strong, independent, and fun-loving, rather than only lamenting the traditional position of la femme abandonnée ("the abandoned woman"). Keeping her audiences dancing, Sarah belts out sassy blues, growls through honky-tonk-inspired Cajun songs of the 1940's and 50's, and wails the bitterness of some of Cajun music's most forlorn waltzes. Adding a particularly interesting element to their usual performances, Sarah Savoy & the Francadians include a very select few country and rockabilly numbers into their sets to fully demonstrate the influence that these genres had on the artists who wrote some of the most popular songs in Cajun music today.

Taking turns on the lead vocals with accordionist and lead guitarist David Rolland, who plays the Acadian accordions made by Sarah's father, brings the traditional male voice to the performance, while giving Sarah the opportunity to spur on the band and the audience with shouts, whoops, and jokes. With Vincent Blin's bluesy fiddling and Manolo Gonzales' slapping and walking upright bass rhythms, the four-piece band offers a fun and exciting experience to audiences of all ages, interests, and backgrounds.
(Biography supplied by artist management)

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