'A big culture pot': Singer-songwriter Foy Vance plays and eats his way through Baton Rouge

euronews (in English)

Northern Irish singer-songwriter Foy Vance explores the influence of Creole and Cajun cultures on the songs and the seafood coming out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Transcript

00:00 My name's Foy Vance, I'm a singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, and I've toured all over the world,

00:05 but there's one place where the music keeps pulling me back for more.

00:08 The USA.

00:09 So I'm on a journey to visit different cities across the country

00:13 to experience the best music, food and culture that's on offer.

00:17 This is Notes From The USA.

00:20 Today I'm in Louisiana's state capital, Baton Rouge.

00:25 One of the most eclectic cities on the Mississippi,

00:28 thanks in part to its unique Creole and Cajun cultures.

00:31 I wanted to understand more about the city's distinct identity

00:34 and how these cultures have endured in the modern age, particularly in the music.

00:38 To get properly introduced to the city,

00:40 I first grab a bite to eat with local music legend, Sean Ardoin.

00:44 Hey, what's going on, man?

00:46 Thank you, brother. Thanks for meeting me.

00:47 Yes, indeed, man. My pleasure.

00:49 You hungry?

00:50 Yes, sir.

00:51 I'm getting the big Lou.

00:52 Times two.

00:53 Times two?

00:54 Times two.

00:55 Boom. Let's do this.

00:57 Tell me about Creole music.

00:59 So in Louisiana, you have a Creole and Cajun population.

01:02 Originally and authentically, the definition of Creole

01:05 is born outside of country of origin.

01:07 So the music is just a mix of accordion music,

01:10 you know, with everything that we've been exposed to.

01:13 And then I took it a step further.

01:15 I wanted to be like you.

01:17 I wanted to be a legend in my own time.

01:19 [laughs]

01:20 So I created a genre called Creole rock and soul.

01:23 It's an old new genre.

01:25 And as soon as I changed it to Creole rock and soul,

01:28 I got two Grammy nominations for my 2018 CD,

01:31 and I've gotten two Grammy nominations since then.

01:33 So I think I'm on the right path.

01:35 With the squeeze box, especially the diatonic,

01:37 that's an Irish music a lot as well.

01:39 It is.

01:40 Yeah.

01:41 The accordion is the instrument of the world.

01:43 All popular music borrows from popular music.

01:45 You started in like a marching band?

01:47 I was in a marching band. I played quads.

01:49 I was in the band going, man, it'd be awesome

01:51 if we could just play popular music.

01:53 And fast forward decades later, and they're playing my music.

01:56 Full Circle?

01:57 And that's the title of the album, Full Circle.

02:00 Is it? I didn't say I didn't know that.

02:02 Really? No, I didn't.

02:04 Full Circle.

02:05 When you think Louisiana, first thing you think is...

02:08 New Orleans.

02:09 New Orleans.

02:10 But everything west of New Orleans is just as important.

02:13 45 minutes away, you come here to the capital city,

02:16 you can experience everything.

02:17 The capital city has a little bit of taste of the old state.

02:21 [playing in fast-paced rhythm]

02:24 You know, in Baton Rouge, you can see live music

02:27 pretty much from Wednesday to Sunday

02:29 on the Live at Five or the Downtown Live.

02:32 The Zydeco culture, the Creole culture,

02:34 the Cajun culture in Louisiana,

02:36 it influences everything we do in the advertising.

02:39 You'll see like the gators and the crawfish with an accordion

02:42 or the gator and the crawfish with a scrub board

02:45 'cause we've got the music, we've got the language,

02:47 we've got the culture, we've got the dance,

02:49 we've got the swag.

02:51 [playing in fast-paced rhythm]

02:53 Whoo!

02:55 Yeah, man!

02:59 When arriving somewhere new, there's nothing like playing

03:02 along with local musicians to really help you dive into a place.

03:05 But Creole and Cajun culture isn't just about the music,

03:09 it's a cuisine as well.

03:10 And dishes from both cultures dominate menus across the city.

03:14 Every different plate seems to tell its own story,

03:17 and I needed a translator,

03:19 so I asked food blogger Jordan Basham for some local insight.

03:23 This is the first place you need to stop whenever you're coming to Baton Rouge.

03:26 Why is that? What's this a payment for?

03:28 We love seafood here, so you're going to have to get the seafood.

03:30 You know what, I'm trying whatever you order.

03:32 This is what you do, right? Is it on the go or...?

03:35 Yeah, so I run a food blog actually here in Baton Rouge.

03:37 It's called Where To Go 225.

03:39 Yeah, what all have you ordered, man?

03:40 So I know while you're on the trip we're going to have some bold crawfish,

03:43 but while you're doing that, we also have fried crawfish tails.

03:45 We have boudin balls, and then of course fried pickles.

03:47 Anywhere you go in the South, there's going to be fried pickles.

03:49 Here in Louisiana, we fry everything.

03:51 I like me some fried pickles.

03:52 It's a big culture pot here, so everywhere you go,

03:55 there's all different cultures, and everybody puts their own twist to things.

03:59 It feels like food and music go hand in hand here.

04:01 If you're in the backyard grilling some burgers or having crawfish,

04:04 there's always going to be music playing.

04:06 If you're out in the restaurants having a beer, music playing.

04:08 You have to have music playing here.

04:10 Is there a difference, and if there is, what is it,

04:13 between Creole food and Cajun food?

04:16 It's hard to describe with Creole or Cajun which is better, what's the difference.

04:20 I always tell people, "Come to Baton Rouge and come try it out."

04:23 After a delicious lunch, I hit the streets to take in some sights,

04:27 and nowhere is this done better in Baton Rouge

04:30 than at the top of the Louisiana State Capitol Building,

04:33 the tallest Capitol Building in the country.

04:36 After a quick history lesson inside the Capitol Park Museum,

04:39 it was time to explore some Cajun history myself.

04:43 Back in the 18th century here, crawfish were eaten mostly out of necessity,

04:47 but after centuries of perfecting,

04:49 crawfish have now become a staple of Baton Rouge cuisine,

04:52 found all over the city.

04:54 I've been invited to the home of French Cajun musician, Jesse Brown,

04:57 for a backyard bite.

04:59 If you're in the city of Baton Rouge, you can find crawfish that was caught that day.

05:03 That's common, and you can get your crawfish fresh.

05:05 Restaurants would do a shrimp bite. Is this like a--

05:08 You can get it at a restaurant.

05:10 So this morning I went and I picked up a couple of sacks of crawfish for you.

05:14 I went through them, cleaned them up, made them look good,

05:16 brought them over here, we boiled them,

05:18 and that's what we do right here in Baton Rouge.

05:20 You're going to teach me how to--

05:22 I'll show you how to peel it and how to get to the crawfish.

05:25 I'll show you all those things.

05:27 Yeah, because I have eaten it before, but not like this.

05:29 I've never had a crawfish boiled like this before.

05:31 You ready for a plate? You ready for a platter?

05:33 I need to go, yeah. Yes, sir.

05:35 That's good for one serving. There you go.

05:38 This is one serving? We'll start with that.

05:42 You're going to grab the meat of the tail,

05:45 and then right here you're going to squeeze just a little tiny bit.

05:48 It really is a Louisiana thing. It's very, very unique.

05:51 This is the only freshwater crawfish like this in the world.

05:54 If you've got 100 different people boiling crawfish, there's 100 different ways.

05:58 So everybody's got their little special things that they do,

06:01 and they all do it to try to make theirs a little bit more special than everybody else.

06:04 Oh, that's delicious.

06:06 People describe Baton Rouge as the sister city for New Orleans,

06:09 so from a size standpoint, really both cities are about the same.

06:13 Baton Rouge has a very different flavor.

06:16 It's common afterwards for people to pull out a guitar, accordion, fiddle,

06:21 dance a little bit, play some music, and just generally pass a good time.

06:25 Let's pass a good time. We will. All right.

06:28 [music]

06:31 [singing]

06:34 It's great to be able to tie together the sounds and flavors of Creole and Cajun culture,

06:52 but you don't need a private invite to experience music like this,

06:55 as local bands like Jessie's play all over town.

06:58 [music]

07:01 I came to Baton Rouge wanting to understand more about this city's distinct identity

07:17 and how Cajun and Creole cultures continue to define it.

07:21 But through playing and eating my way through this town,

07:24 I feel I've got a grasp on what it's all about.

07:28 Modern city life is surrounded by conservation areas and parks.

07:33 The world-famous Mississippi River runs alongside the tallest capital building in the country.

07:38 Baton Rouge is a multi-ethnic, historical mishmash of cultures from around the world,

07:43 and yet everything seems to coexist here so beautifully.

07:47 Great music, great food, and great conversation.

07:51 As they say here, Baton Rouge knows how to pass a good time.

07:56 [music fades]

07:59 [music]

08:03 (upbeat music)

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