Waylon Thibodeaux

Louisiana’s Rockin’ Fiddler, Waylon Thibodeaux is scheduled to perform at a concert scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Oct. 13 in Houma.

While his concert, Thibodeaux said, is a way to expose the local youth to traditional music and the language they are loosing, he anticipates the concert to be a good time for all.

“What we have in our hearts, souls, and blood is to have a good time,” he said. “It is all about having fun with family and friends.”

Thibodeaux, 41, from Chauvin, began playing fiddle at 14 and hasn’t put it down since.

Thibodeaux said that his fiddle playing sounds like a violin played really fast.

“It’s allowing us to provide a service to our community by offering these music programs,” said Elmy Savoie, public-relations coordinator for Fletcher.

Savoie said past concerts, including Thibodeaux’s, which was organized by the school’s music-appreciation teacher, Bonnie Le, serves as a learning experience for many of the school’s music-appreciation students.

She said along with drawing in some of the students, past concerts have brought in local residents and young children who can be seen strumming on washboards.

This is not Thibodeaux’s first concert. He has also played with the Voice of Wetlands All Star Band, community orchestra and Fiddle Fest. Thibodeaux has played at events across the U.S., including Canada.

In Canada, Thibodeaux said, he saw young people speaking French, something he said is a dying tradition in south Louisiana.

The concert, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Board of Regents Enhancement Grant which helps produce free concerts.
- Houma Today (Houma Courier)

December 8, 1998
WAYLON THIBODEAUX AND ROLAND GAUVIN SELECTED AS
WINNERS OF THE OFFICIAL CMA SONG CONTEST

(Lafayette, Louisiana) — Acadians of Louisiana and the Canadian maritimes , separated for 250 years, will make up for lost time with a song for the next CONGRÈS MONDIAL ACADIEN-LOUISIANE 1999. The theme song selection committee for CMA has chosen Si longtemps séparé, submitted by Waylon Thibodeaux, from Louisiana, and Roland Gauvin, from New-Brunswick.

“We received several great entries,” states Valérie Roy, president of the selection committee, “but Si longtemps séparé hit a sensitive area. The text is touching and the music flowing, but the fact that it reunites the two Acadies also played an important role since it fulfilled one of CMA’s objectives, namely, to improve relations between Acadians of the diaspora.”

The text, written by Waylon Thibodeaux and Sheryl Collins, from Louisiana, and Roland Gauvin and Jac Gautreau, from New-Brunswick, speaks of the past as well as the future of the Acadians. Roy explains, “In a way, it is about a Louisiana Acadian witnessing his past and the response he gets from his Acadian cousin from Canada. Everyone, in Louisiana or Canada, who has the opportunity to listen to Si longtemps séparé, is deeply moved.” However, the president of the selection committee assures that the song is emotional, but not depressing. “The Cajuns are known for their energy and their joie de vivre, and our song corresponds exactly with these characteristics. The music is played with a fiddle and an accordion and the song ends on a positive note, with an invitation to come celebrate and reunite in Louisiana.”

According to Brian Comeaux, President and General Director of CMA, Si longtemps séparé reveals its chosen characteristics well. “In Louisiana, where the music is of great importance, I believe that a song like the one we have chosen represents the reunion theme perfectly .” Mr. Comeaux, who was present at the first Congrès, remembers clearly the emotion that came to him after having heard the theme song, Acadie de nos coeurs, for the first time. “I was watching Acadians from all areas, singing in unison a song that represented that which they had lost until then. Si longtemps séparé will have the same effect here, in Louisiana.”

Thibodeaux and Gauvin are both well-established artists in their respective regions, with many previous recordings between them. Roland Gauvin came to Louisiana on several occasions with the former Acadian group, 1755. He has performed most recently in Louisiana at Festival International de Louisiane with Les Méchants Maquereaux. At the same time, Waylon Thibodeaux took a tour of Canada last summer, which brought him to several cities of the Maritime Provinces. It was there that they did the demo tape of Si longtemps séparé.

Extract from: Si longtemps séparé


Et quand la famille se rassemble
Je vois même qu’on se ressemble
Quand l’Acadien joue du violon
Et le Cadien l’accordéon And when the family is reunited
I see the ressemblance
When the Acadian plays the fiddle
And the Cajun the accordion
Chère Acadie
Je pense souvent à toi
Mais je ne peux pas me détacher
Du pays où je suis né
Ceux qui ne sont pas Acadiens
Ne peuvent pas comprendre
Qu’est-ce que c’est d’avoir
Le coeur en Acadie
Et les pieds en la Louisiane Dear Acadie
I often think of you
But I cannot detach myself
From the place where I was born
Those who are not Acadians
Cannot understand
What it is to have
The heart in Acadie
And the feet in Louisiana

CONGRÈS MONDIAL ACADIEN - LOUISIANE 1999 theme song: Si longtemp séparé
by: Waylon Thibodeaux and Roland Gauvin
Text: Sheryl Collins, Waylon Thibodeaux, Roland Gauvin, Jac Gautreau
Music: Waylon Thibodeaux

WAYLON THIBODEAUX
Waylon Thibodeaux is considered one of the best contemporary Louisiana artists. Originally from Houma, near New Orleans, he became interested in music at the age of 8 and by the time he was 16, he had been given the title Best Violinist in Louisiana. He considers his style “a combination of modern Cajun with a touch of zydeco, country and rock’n’roll,” nothing better to make everyone want to dance.
With 8 albums out, he has traveled across the United States, Canada, France, Central America and South America. He has participated in a variety of radio and television commercials, having 4 of his original compositions featured in the 1993 NBC movie, House of Secrets. Since his association with Mardi Gras Records in 1993, he has become one of the best selling artists with: Cajun Festival, Best of Cajun and Like A Real Cajun.
His talent is known today throughout the major artists of Cajun music, as evidenced by the fact that he has previously been chosen to perform with Jimmy C. Newman, BeauSoleil, Jo-El Sonnier and Wayne Toups. He was recently selected by the American magazine, Offbeat, for Best Cajun Album. Proud of his Acadian Heritage, he lives in Louisiana and he charms his audiences, in French and in English.
For information : manager (504) 879-2689

ROLAND GAUVIN
Roland Gauvin is originally from Moncton, New-Brunswick and he has been active in music for over 20 years. He is currently part of the group Les Méchants Maquereaux and the duo Roland et Johnny, in addition to being a member of the former Acadian group, 1755. Since the beginning of his career, he has produced 7 albums as well as participated on numerous compilations. He has gone on more than 1,000 tours, which has permitted him to visit all the Canadian Provinces, France, and Belgium, as well as Louisiana on four occasions.
Thanks to his charm and energy, his groups are always in demand at various events (Ex: National Festival of Acadians, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Summer Festivals, etc.). As a self-taught folklorist, he always manages to modernize his repertoire at the same time that he is accessible to everyone, and his groups are consistently among the best Acadian sellers. It is the group Les Méchants Maquereaux who were responsible for submitting the official song, Acadie de nos coeurs, for the first Congrès Mondial Acadien.
He participates in several radio and television programs each year, on the national and international levels, as an artist, as a member of Conseil des Arts of New-Brunswick or simply as a resource person. In the course of the past 20 years, he has been rewarded for his accomplishments, either as an individual or as part of a group.
Since 1995, he has owned his own production company, Les Productions Roland Gauvin.
For more information : manager (506) 858-5322

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