Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys have been one of Louisiana's most highly successful Cajun bands since their debut in 1988. After a stint playing accordion with Dewey Balfa as a teenager Riley formed his own band when he was eighteen. Although Riley didn't speak French growing up, he eventually became more fluent in the language and the songs on his albums are in French, with only a few exceptions. Riley and his band have been been very prolific, having released ten albums since 1990, all on the Rounder label, and they're currently the most visible Cajun band on the touring circuit. Only the venerable BeauSoleil enjoys a higher profile today.

Riley and his band are distinguished by several factors. His band is a very tight and versatile unit that can draw from a range of musical idioms. Besides being a fine accordion player and singer, Riley also excels on fiddle while long-time fiddler David Greely—who's also an accomplished songwriter—shares some of the vocal chores. The Mamou Playboys bring a new creative elan to familiar Cajun material but also dig deep into the local cultural legacy to revive unknown gems.

Riley's creative impulses sometimes expresses themselves in surprising ways. For example, he has drawn from 19th century slave poetry and other unexpected sources for some of his material. The group has garnered three Grammy Award nominations and has become a major force in Cajun culture. The Mamou Playboys' innovative approach was most evident on Domino, a Grammy-nominated album from 2005 that's also a dual disc—with one side containing the songs, the other featuring a live performance DVD—he first ever from a Cajun artist. —Paul-Emile Comeau