For the last week of Atchafalaya National Heritage Area month, Terrebonne Parish celebrates the unique style of music known as Cajun and Zydeco music. The two music forms are closely related, sharing many common origins and influences. Originating from Nova Scotia dance music, Cajun music uses a fiddle or twin fiddles and incorporates the German and Italian influence of the accordion to play two-steps and waltzes. Zydeco musicians will substitute a washboard for a fiddle, a practice with African and Caribbean origins. Zydeco typically features a more upbeat tempo, which lends itself to more modern styles of dance. While both musical styles feature the accordion, they are characterized by different types. Cajun accordions have a single row of diatonic keys, while zydeco players use a multi-button or multi-key accordion.

The Atchafalaya National Heritage Area locational highlight this week is The Capitol Park Museum located in Baton Rouge. From Louis Armstrong to Huey P. Long, from Mardi Gras to Fais-do-do, and from the nation-building commence of the Mississippi River to the life-sustaining bounty of the Gulf of Mexico, the Capitol Park Museum provides a panoramic exploration of the most vibrant state in America. See how American Indians, colonists from France, Spain, and Britain, and enslaved Africans and Acadians from Nova Scotia populated and cultivated Louisiana, shaping it into one of the most culturally rich regions in the world. To learn more, visit the Capitol Park Museum website.

For more information on Cajun and Zydeco music, visit the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area website.