Audio By Carbonatix
Keep Westword Free
We’re $3,500 away from our spring campaign goal!
We’re aiming to raise $20,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Westword can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print.
The Youngblood Brass Band, Saturday, February 17, at the Boulder Theater, will add a blast of fresh heat to the early Mardi Gras celebration being presented by the Colorado Friends of Cajun-Zydeco Music and Dance. The band — eight white guys from the seemingly gumbo-impaired environs of Wisconsin — blend vintage New Orleans jazz, marching-band fare and Meters-ish funk with snatches of hip-hop. The result is a brand new version of Cajun musical stew — wiggy enough to thrill the baggy-pants set while ruffling a few feathers amongst old-schoolers. But even trad-minded purists chilled by the Youngblood’s occasional raps should appreciate the band’s butt-friendly grooves and hot-as-cayenne horn section. If not, retro zydeco nuts will get their fill from the night’s other acts — the Colorado Cajun Dance Band and the legendary Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas — and all the Cajun food, beer and beads a body can handle. Can’t make it to the Crescent City this year for the genuine Louisiana shindig? This jambalaya-blessed bash should help ease your pain.
