We get asked questions all the time about Zydeco music. Here are our best efforts to answer some of those questions:

The quick definition

Zydeco is a syncopated dance music played by Creole French speaking people of African descent who historically lived on the prairies of Southwest Louisiana. At its core it is the sound of an accordion paired with the scrapping of a rubboard.

Is Zydeco music the same as Cajun music?

Cajun and Creole people have lived and worked side by side for generations. They have shared and traded many aspects of their cultures including music. Some Zydeco songs are played by Cajun bands and some Cajun songs are played by Zydeco groups, but they are two different types of music. One major difference is that you'll find fiddles and steel guitars in Cajun groups, but not in Zydeco bands

Do they play Zydeco in New Orleans?

When Creole and Cajun people migrated from Southwest Louisiana they tended to go where the work was and that wasn't New Orleans. They went west to places in Texas like Port Arthur, Beaumont, Galveston, and Houston. Some people in Houston even claim Zydeco started there! Because of the growing popularity of Zydeco, clubs in New Orleans now book Zydeco groups mainly for the tourists and conventioners. New Orleans has great musical traditions of its own and the people take pride in their own music.

What does the term Zydeco mean?

The term is thought to have derived from a Creole expression "Les haricots sont pas sale" which means "the snap beans aren't salted." The expression is used in several Creole songs and eventually shorted to just "Les Haricots" came to mean a Creole dance. Since there were no standard spellings for Creole words, Zydeco was one of the many spellings used. Michael Tisserand in his excellent book "Kingdom of Zydeco" spends a whole chapter talking about how this spelling has become the standard spelling!

Are there different styles of Zydeco?

There sure are! The old split was between piano accordion players, the most famous being Clifton Chenier, and button box players, the most famous being Boozoo Chavis. Playing button box used to imply you were country and piano accordion meant you were more urban, but now a days things just aren't that simple anymore. You can hear kids mixing button box playing with hip hop beats and even a real traditional performer like Geno Delafose will pick up a piano accordion at least part of the night. Basically everybody has a certain ideal of what makes their music Zydeco music, but they all season it differently to fit their taste.

Here is more detailed information about Zydeco.
from David Simpson at LSU Encyclopedia of Cajun Culture