Cajun
Carencro, Louisiana
Photo courtesy of the artist
Known as the “Queen of the Cajun Accordion” and “La Reine de Musique Cadjine,” Sheryl Cormier is still packing the dance floors of Southwest Louisiana at 79 years old. “The reason I’m still doing that is, I love people,” she declares. “If I can entertain, I’m in my element.” With her band Cajun Sounds, Cormier plays the traditional way, with Francophone singing rising over the accordion- and fiddle-driven two steps and waltzes that connect listeners—and dancers—to the heart of Cajun culture.
Cajun music is rooted in the traditions of the French-speaking Acadians who were expelled from Nova Scotia by the British in 1755. They settled in Southwest Louisiana alongside Native Americans, Spanish, Germans, and French Creoles of African descent. Out of this rich cultural gumbo, a distinctive Cajun music emerged that fed the community spirit at house parties and dance halls across the bayou and prairie.
Sheryl Cormier’s childhood home was the site of those house-party “jams” in their rural community. From a young age, Sheryl was drawn to her father’s accordion, but that instrument, which she still has today, was a precious and costly possession for their farming family. “As many times as I watched my dad go in the fields when I didn’t have to, I’d grab his accordion. It was hard to concentrate on playing and watch for him not to creep up on me.” Her mom kept her secret, and by the time her father first caught her, he was impressed with her talent. In her teens, Sheryl played both drums and accordion in her parents’ band, Andrew Guilbeau & the Sunset Playboys. Sheryl married Russell Cormier right out of high school, and while she entertained at her own nuptials by playing the accordion in her wedding finery, she then put music on the back burner while raising Russell Jr. and running a beloved hair salon.
When she was in her early 30s, Sheryl and Russell started going to Bourque’s Club in Lewisburg, where local legend Blackie Forestier and his Cajun Aces drew crowds each weekend. Much to Sheryl’s surprise, her sister told Blackie that he should invite Sheryl to sit in with the band. Blackie was so impressed that he asked her to become a regular. Soon thereafter he encouraged her to record with his band; she’s believed to be the first female accordionist to make a Cajun record and to play professionally. Blackie’s support “was the best thing that happened to me,” opening up a nearly half-century career that has taken her to stages across the U.S. and Europe, and won her just about every award Cajun music has to offer. This fall she’ll play opening night of the 50th anniversary of Festival Acadiens in honor of Blackie, who starred at the first one.
Sheryl Cormier’s band Cajun Sounds continues the Guilbeau and Cormier family musical tradition, highlighting Russell Sr.’s classic Cajun sound on vocals and Russell Jr. on drums. They’re joined by a cast of Cajun music stalwarts, featuring the acclaimed David Greely on fiddle, bass player Brett Denais, and Chris Lougon on pedal steel. “It’s an honor,” Cormier says, to play with such brilliant musicians who are also “such down-to-earth Cajuns like we are.”