Spotlight Series: Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience

08_22_16_Terrance SimienTwo-time GRAMMY Award winner and three-time Levitt performer Terrance Simien brings a vibrant splash of New Orleans culture to Levitt AMP Utica tonight. His lively musical gumbo will have the whole family movin’ and groovin’ in no time!

During his 35-year career, this proud eighth-generation Louisiana Creole has shared his region’s rich musical heritage in 45 countries—with more than 7,500 performances under his belt. You might recognize Simien and his band The Zydeco Experience from their memorable performance at the 2008 GRAMMY Awards ceremony, where they took home the first GRAMMY Award in the newly created “Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album” category. Children might recognize the group from their work with “Creole for Kidz,” a project that uses music and oral history to celebrate Creole culture in schools, art centers and festivals around the globe.

Simien’s internationally renowned combination of New Orleans funk, reggae, blues and zydeco has also been featured as the music backdrop for a number of films including The Big EasyExit to Eden, A Murder of Crows and most recently, the 2009 animated Oscar-nominated Disney film, The Princess and the Frog—set in Louisiana’s French Quarter and scored by Randy Newman. 

Warm up for this living zydeco legend’s performance at Levitt AMP Utica with this fun clip from The Princess and the Frog!


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