Andrew Carriere and his band perform at Ashkenaz in Berkeley. Photo by John Noltner.
The French Creoles of South Louisiana are a rural people whose roots contain a blend of African, French, and other ancestries. During the era of legalized segregation, they developed close-knit communities and a vibrant musical culture. Then, starting in World War II, many Creoles started looking west in search of greater opportunity and freedom, and began a migration to Northern California. They brought with them the dance music that held them together as a community: zydeco.
Zydeco Nation is a one-hour radio documentary that tells the story of that migration and looks at the culture that now thrives in the Bay Area. It was produced and written by Richard Ziglar and Barry Yeoman and distributed by AARP Prime Time Radio. John Noltner took the photographs.
The documentary was financed, in part, by a generous grant from California Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
By clicking on the links below, you can meet 19 musicians and dancers, hear their voices, see their portraits, and read their stories.
Listen to Zydeco Nation (download here)
