Northern Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance explores the influence of Creole and Cajun cultures on the songs and the seafood coming out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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00:00 My name's Foy Vance, I'm a singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, and I've toured all over the world,
00:05 but there's one place where the music keeps pulling me back for more.
00:08 The USA.
00:09 So I'm on a journey to visit different cities across the country
00:13 to experience the best music, food and culture that's on offer.
00:17 This is Notes From The USA.
00:20 Today I'm in Louisiana's state capital, Baton Rouge.
00:25 One of the most eclectic cities on the Mississippi,
00:28 thanks in part to its unique Creole and Cajun cultures.
00:31 I wanted to understand more about the city's distinct identity
00:34 and how these cultures have endured in the modern age, particularly in the music.
00:38 To get properly introduced to the city,
00:40 I first grab a bite to eat with local music legend, Sean Ardoin.
00:44 Hey, what's going on, man?
00:46 Thank you, brother. Thanks for meeting me.
00:47 Yes, indeed, man. My pleasure.
00:49 You hungry?
00:50 Yes, sir.
00:51 I'm getting the big Lou.
00:52 Times two.
00:53 Times two?
00:54 Times two.
00:55 Boom. Let's do this.
00:57 Tell me about Creole music.
00:59 So in Louisiana, you have a Creole and Cajun population.
01:02 Originally and authentically, the definition of Creole
01:05 is born outside of country of origin.
01:07 So the music is just a mix of accordion music,
01:10 you know, with everything that we've been exposed to.
01:13 And then I took it a step further.
01:15 I wanted to be like you.
01:17 I wanted to be a legend in my own time.
01:19 [laughs]
01:20 So I created a genre called Creole rock and soul.
01:23 It's an old new genre.
01:25 And as soon as I changed it to Creole rock and soul,
01:28 I got two Grammy nominations for my 2018 CD,
01:31 and I've gotten two Grammy nominations since then.
01:33 So I think I'm on the right path.
01:35 With the squeeze box, especially the diatonic,
01:37 that's an Irish music a lot as well.
01:39 It is.
01:40 Yeah.
01:41 The accordion is the instrument of the world.
01:43 All popular music borrows from popular music.
01:45 You started in like a marching band?
01:47 I was in a marching band. I played quads.
01:49 I was in the band going, man, it'd be awesome
01:51 if we could just play popular music.
01:53 And fast forward decades later, and they're playing my music.
01:56 Full Circle?
01:57 And that's the title of the album, Full Circle.
02:00 Is it? I didn't say I didn't know that.
02:02 Really? No, I didn't.
02:04 Full Circle.
02:05 When you think Louisiana, first thing you think is...
02:08 New Orleans.
02:09 New Orleans.
02:10 But everything west of New Orleans is just as important.
02:13 45 minutes away, you come here to the capital city,
02:16 you can experience everything.
02:17 The capital city has a little bit of taste of the old state.
02:21 [playing in fast-paced rhythm]
02:24 You know, in Baton Rouge, you can see live music
02:27 pretty much from Wednesday to Sunday
02:29 on the Live at Five or the Downtown Live.
02:32 The Zydeco culture, the Creole culture,
02:34 the Cajun culture in Louisiana,
02:36 it influences everything we do in the advertising.
02:39 You'll see like the gators and the crawfish with an accordion
02:42 or the gator and the crawfish with a scrub board
02:45 'cause we've got the music, we've got the language,
02:47 we've got the culture, we've got the dance,
02:49 we've got the swag.
02:51 [playing in fast-paced rhythm]
02:53 Whoo!
02:55 Yeah, man!
02:59 When arriving somewhere new, there's nothing like playing
03:02 along with local musicians to really help you dive into a place.
03:05 But Creole and Cajun culture isn't just about the music,
03:09 it's a cuisine as well.
03:10 And dishes from both cultures dominate menus across the city.
03:14 Every different plate seems to tell its own story,
03:17 and I needed a translator,
03:19 so I asked food blogger Jordan Basham for some local insight.
03:23 This is the first place you need to stop whenever you're coming to Baton Rouge.
03:26 Why is that? What's this a payment for?
03:28 We love seafood here, so you're going to have to get the seafood.
03:30 You know what, I'm trying whatever you order.
03:32 This is what you do, right? Is it on the go or...?
03:35 Yeah, so I run a food blog actually here in Baton Rouge.
03:37 It's called Where To Go 225.
03:39 Yeah, what all have you ordered, man?
03:40 So I know while you're on the trip we're going to have some bold crawfish,
03:43 but while you're doing that, we also have fried crawfish tails.
03:45 We have boudin balls, and then of course fried pickles.
03:47 Anywhere you go in the South, there's going to be fried pickles.
03:49 Here in Louisiana, we fry everything.
03:51 I like me some fried pickles.
03:52 It's a big culture pot here, so everywhere you go,
03:55 there's all different cultures, and everybody puts their own twist to things.
03:59 It feels like food and music go hand in hand here.
04:01 If you're in the backyard grilling some burgers or having crawfish,
04:04 there's always going to be music playing.
04:06 If you're out in the restaurants having a beer, music playing.
04:08 You have to have music playing here.
04:10 Is there a difference, and if there is, what is it,
04:13 between Creole food and Cajun food?
04:16 It's hard to describe with Creole or Cajun which is better, what's the difference.
04:20 I always tell people, "Come to Baton Rouge and come try it out."
04:23 After a delicious lunch, I hit the streets to take in some sights,
04:27 and nowhere is this done better in Baton Rouge
04:30 than at the top of the Louisiana State Capitol Building,
04:33 the tallest Capitol Building in the country.
04:36 After a quick history lesson inside the Capitol Park Museum,
04:39 it was time to explore some Cajun history myself.
04:43 Back in the 18th century here, crawfish were eaten mostly out of necessity,
04:47 but after centuries of perfecting,
04:49 crawfish have now become a staple of Baton Rouge cuisine,
04:52 found all over the city.
04:54 I've been invited to the home of French Cajun musician, Jesse Brown,
04:57 for a backyard bite.
04:59 If you're in the city of Baton Rouge, you can find crawfish that was caught that day.
05:03 That's common, and you can get your crawfish fresh.
05:05 Restaurants would do a shrimp bite. Is this like a--
05:08 You can get it at a restaurant.
05:10 So this morning I went and I picked up a couple of sacks of crawfish for you.
05:14 I went through them, cleaned them up, made them look good,
05:16 brought them over here, we boiled them,
05:18 and that's what we do right here in Baton Rouge.
05:20 You're going to teach me how to--
05:22 I'll show you how to peel it and how to get to the crawfish.
05:25 I'll show you all those things.
05:27 Yeah, because I have eaten it before, but not like this.
05:29 I've never had a crawfish boiled like this before.
05:31 You ready for a plate? You ready for a platter?
05:33 I need to go, yeah. Yes, sir.
05:35 That's good for one serving. There you go.
05:38 This is one serving? We'll start with that.
05:42 You're going to grab the meat of the tail,
05:45 and then right here you're going to squeeze just a little tiny bit.
05:48 It really is a Louisiana thing. It's very, very unique.
05:51 This is the only freshwater crawfish like this in the world.
05:54 If you've got 100 different people boiling crawfish, there's 100 different ways.
05:58 So everybody's got their little special things that they do,
06:01 and they all do it to try to make theirs a little bit more special than everybody else.
06:04 Oh, that's delicious.
06:06 People describe Baton Rouge as the sister city for New Orleans,
06:09 so from a size standpoint, really both cities are about the same.
06:13 Baton Rouge has a very different flavor.
06:16 It's common afterwards for people to pull out a guitar, accordion, fiddle,
06:21 dance a little bit, play some music, and just generally pass a good time.
06:25 Let's pass a good time. We will. All right.
06:28 [music]
06:31 [singing]
06:34 It's great to be able to tie together the sounds and flavors of Creole and Cajun culture,
06:52 but you don't need a private invite to experience music like this,
06:55 as local bands like Jessie's play all over town.
06:58 [music]
07:01 I came to Baton Rouge wanting to understand more about this city's distinct identity
07:17 and how Cajun and Creole cultures continue to define it.
07:21 But through playing and eating my way through this town,
07:24 I feel I've got a grasp on what it's all about.
07:28 Modern city life is surrounded by conservation areas and parks.
07:33 The world-famous Mississippi River runs alongside the tallest capital building in the country.
07:38 Baton Rouge is a multi-ethnic, historical mishmash of cultures from around the world,
07:43 and yet everything seems to coexist here so beautifully.
07:47 Great music, great food, and great conversation.
07:51 As they say here, Baton Rouge knows how to pass a good time.
07:56 [music fades]
07:59 [music]
08:03 (upbeat music)