Zydeco band to shake things up for a good cause on Vinalhaven

Yes, that was me, dancin’ for all I was worth when Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas came to Bangor four years ago to stir up the waterfront during the National Folk Festival.

I was so hot and tired and elated when Saturday ended, I didn’t come back until Sunday.

It wasn’t so much what we heard, or saw or tasted – but how we felt – that indescribable feeling in the pit of the stomach that comes from being a part of a special community and identifying with people from faraway places and different ways of life.

So it is that the music legends from south Louisiana – that’s Loo-zee-ana – will perform at a benefit concert for Partners in Island Education at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, at Smith Hokanson Memorial Hall, Vinalhaven School.

Organizers said this will be the third in what they hope will be an annual celebration “of music from far and wide that will help support the island community and school.”

Last year it was Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys who performed.

This year it will be Nathan Williams and fellow band members offering accordion-driven dance music of the Creole people.

Zydeco is known for its rub board percussion played on a washboard-type instrument, electric guitars and Caribbean lilt. It’s all about zest, according to Nathan Williams.

“Zydeco is like a good gumbo,” he said before playing at the National Folk Festival. “It’s got a little bit of everything you could want: blues, reggae, R&B – it’s the whole variety of flavors.

“When you’re listening, you don’t want to sit down,” Williams said. “People should bring their dancin’ shoes, ’cause we gonna sock it to ’em.”

Band members include guitarist Dennis Paul Williams and Nathan Williams Jr. on keyboards. Mark Williams plays the rub board, while Robert LeBlanc is on bass, and Herman Brown plays drums. The band’s new album is “Hang It High, Hang It Low.”

“The Vinalhaven-Louisiana connection is gearing up for a second time after our great concert last year,” said Kris Davidson, president of PIE. The Zydeco Cha Chas’ music “is deeply rooted in community and about celebration and family – it’s only fitting that the proceeds of this concert will go to help us build a stronger island.”

General admission is $20, with special reserved seating available for sponsors at $50.

Students of SAD 8 can purchase tickets for $10.

Tickets are available through the Paper Store and Port of Call on the island. For information and other ticket availability, call 863-9370.

Partners in Island Education spearheaded the capital campaign to develop the new school’s auditorium and improve its library facilities, and continues to raise funds for library books and programming.