Can you name the musician who has played the most shows at Tipitina’s? 

 

It might be a surprise that inside the hallowed walls made famous by Professor Longhair that the answer has nothing to do with jazz, funk, or another New Orleans style. The answer is the sweet Cajun music of Bruce Daigrepont, who for the last 25 years has hosted a weekly Fais Do Do on Sunday evenings. Since 1986 Daigrepont has played his button accordion at Tip’s at 501 Napoleon Street for more than 1100 shows. No other performer comes close.

 

A Fais Do Do is the traditional name for a home dance party in Acadiana. Mothers would take the young children to a separate or “Cry Room” and gently encourage them to go to sleep (Do Do) so they could get back to dance with their husbands. There’s no Cry Room at Tip’s, but there are plenty of dancers each week. Locals and visitors from around the world gather at 5:30 p.m. on Sundays to hear the Rounder Recording artist sing both traditional and contemporary Cajun waltzes and two-steps. Daigrepont, who has recorded four CDs, brings the music of his childhood together with his compositions that capture the Cajun heritage.

 

Cajun music was born in the countryside of South Louisiana and honed on porches and in living rooms. Cajun music is dance music for sure. Daigrepont helped establish it in the city when he began a weekly Thursday Fais Do Do at the Maple Leaf in 1978. (Other Cajun bands kept the tradition alive there until 1994). Six years later he moved to Sundays at Tipitinas. Visitors to New Orleans don’t have to go far to catch the sounds of Cajun music. Just show up on Sundays and get a real earful of the best of the bayou. Don’t know how to dance? Well, just ask someone who does. A big part of the Fais Do Do is the friendly locals who come to stomp and many are willing to teach visitors.