The Red Stick Ramblers were a

Cajun Music Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem w ...

and

Western Swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

band formed in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

in 1999 while some of the members were attending

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. Their name comes from a translation of Baton Rouge, which means "red stick" in French. The most recent line-up consisted of Linzay Young (

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

, lead vocals), Daniel Coolik (

, mandolin, electric guitar), Chas Justus (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, vocals), Eric Frey (

Upright Bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, Vocals), Blake Miller (accordion and acoustic guitar) and Glenn Fields (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

). Past members include Josh Caffery,

Joel Savoy Joel Savoy (born in Eunice, Louisiana, USA) is a Cajun musician and music producer from Southwest Louisiana. His father Marc Savoy, famous accordion builder and musician, and his mother, Ann Savoy, author and music producer, are well known ambas ...

, Oliver Swain, Kevin Wimmer, Wilson Savoy and Ricky Rees. The band played a combination of traditional Cajun songs (sung in

Cajun French Louisiana French ( frc, français de la Louisiane; lou, françé la lwizyàn) is an umbrella term for the dialects and varieties of the French language spoken traditionally by French Louisianians in colonial Lower Louisiana. As of today Louis ...

), as well as covers of

classics (particularly the songs of

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

), early American jazz and blues covers (

Stuff Smith Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (August 14, 1909 – September 25, 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song " If You're a Viper" (the original title was "You'se a Viper"). Smith was, al ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

and more), and honky tonk and dance-hall music, as well as dozens of tradition-inspired original songs. The Red Stick Ramblers have appeared in a season finale of the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

's " No Reservations", with chef

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...

, entitled "Cajun Country". Following this appearance the band scored a role in the third season of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's '' Treme'', starring as

Lucia Micarelli Lucia Micarelli (born July 9, 1983) is an American violinist, singer and actress best known for her collaborations with Josh Groban, Chris Botti and classic rock band Jethro Tull, and her role as Annie Talarico in '' Treme''. Early life Born ...

's character Annie's band the "Bayou St. John Playboys" and later "Annie T's Bayou Cadillac." Three Red Stick Rambler original songs, Made in the Shade, Katrina, and Morning Blues, are featured in season three of ''Treme''. The band also returned to appear in the final abbreviated 4th season of ''Treme''. The rhythm section of the Ramblers performed as the backing band on several tracks of

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

and

Ann Savoy Ann Savoy (; born Ann Allen on January 20, 1952) is a musician, author, and record producer. Biography Savoy was raised in Richmond, Virginia. She resides with her husband Marc Savoy and family in Eunice, Southern Louisiana. As a musician, sh ...

's 2007 release Adieu False Heart. On 26 October 2013 at the Black Pot Festival in Lafayette, LA, a festival started by the Red Stick Ramblers in 2006, the band announced that this would be their last show as The Red Stick Ramblers. 5/6th of the members of the most recent personnel of the band have gone on to form

The Revelers The Revelers were an American quintet (four close harmony singers and a pianist) popular in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Revelers' recordings of "Dinah (song), Dinah", "Ol' Man River, Old Man River", "Valencia (song), Valencia", "Baby Fa ...

, which is currently active.

Discography

* ''The Red Stick Ramblers'' (2001) -

Louisiana Radio Records Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

(currently unavailable) * ''Bring it on Down'' (2003) -

Memphis International Records Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memph ...

* ''Right Key, Wrong Keyhole'' (2005) -

* ''Allons Boire un Coup: A Collection of Cajun and Creole Drinking Songs'' Various (2006)

Valcour Records Valcour Records is an independent record label based in Eunice, Louisiana. Valcour was founded in 2006 by Joel Savoy (son of Marc and Ann Savoy), with friends Phillip LaFargue II and Lucius Fontenot. Valcour Records' first release in 2006 was ...

* ''The Red Stick Ramblers EP (2007)'' -

Sugar Hill Records Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label. It was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hil ...

* ''Red Stick Ramblers limited edition EP'' (2007) -

(unavailable) * ''Made in the Shade'' (2007) -

* ''My Suitcase is Always Packed'' (2009) -

External links

Official Red Stick Ramblers Website

Made in the Shade Music Video

Official Page at Sugar Hill Records

Official Revelers Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Stick Ramblers, The Acadiana Cajun musicians Musical groups from Louisiana American folk musical groups