Acadian Driftwood The Roots of Acadian and Cajun Music

In August 2014 at the Congres Mondial Acadien, the Acadian communities in Canada and the United States will commemorate the Grand Derangement (Expulsion) in 1755 when they were transported, under great duress, from their homes in Acadia to Louisiana. The Acadians were emigrants from France who settled in the Acadia region ( New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Maine) and built a rich culture there until the British expelled them during the French and Indian Wars. Their homes were burned, family members were separated, and they were scattered along the Eastern Seaboard, with the majority resettling in Louisiana, near Lafayette. Here the Acadians became Cajuns, developing their own language and a lively musical culture that evolved into Zydeco. The expulsion became the basis for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow s legendary poem, Evangeline and for the song Acadian Driftwood, written by Robbie Robertson and performed by The Band. American Songwriter magazine called Acadian Driftwood a masterpiece of Acadian music . This book provides the history of Acadian and Cajun music from pre-expulsion to the revival of this music today, written by Paul-Emile Comeau, a direct descendant of the original French settlers and the premier historian of Acadian and Cajun music. He has written the National Geographic and Rough Guide encyclopedia entries for Acadian, Cajun, and Zydeco music. He has produced a 13-part series called the Connexion Acadiene for CBC radio and NPR."