Blue Moon Saloon in Lafayette: Now That’s Some Zydeco

It was a late night, we’d been on the road since 7:30, and dinner didn’t end til 9:30. So when we were taken by our Lafayette Louisiana hosts to a local nightclub, I wasn’t sure if I’d pass, or just watch a song or two and go back to the hotel.

But when I walked up to the Blue Moon Saloon, on a sidestreet in Lafayette, and heard Gerard Delafose and the Zydeco Gators belting out a tune, I knew it was the real deal, and I had to stay for more.   What a powerful combination–the requisite squeezebox, played by the frontman Gerard, the washboard played by a tall gent in a porkpie hat, and the rest of the battery cranking out a solid, steady beat, I was hooked.

The Zydeco tunes kept on pumping out, tremendous infectious music that you could not sit still for.  The place is a classic–out back, an open air area next to the bar with a raised
bench so you can see the band, and in the other part of the house, a funky youth hostel with 20-somethings milling about. It all felt so real, so absolutely Zydeco, and here we were in Southwest Louisiana where of course the Zydeco is real, and so are the players.

It was a great night of music, hands down the best Zydeco I’ve ever heard, and a great reason to stay out late in the town that’s been called “The Happiest in America.” Maybe that’s because they went to the Blue Moon Saloon for a beer and some rockin’ music!