Cynthia Simien's Page

Artist or company name

Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience

Please select Artist type. If you are an Artist in Schools or Teacher Artist additional information will be requested upon submission.

Artist in Schools

Contact email address.

tsimieninc@aol.com

Contact phone number.

337-837-9997

Contact physical address (street, city, state, ZIP)

132 Vivian Drive, Lafayette, LA 70508

Artist or company website

http://www.TerranceSimien.com

Please provide a brief (250 word) biographical sketch of the artist or a history of the company in question. For orchestras, please also include a biography of the conductor. This information will be viewable by the public.

Grammy award winning Zydeco artist touring and recording professionally for over 25 years to more than 40 countries reaching millions of people. He hails from one of the earliest families documented to have settled St. Landry Parish. His live performances are legendary and his vocal ability stretches beyond his tradtional music style to compare to some of the greatest voices in roots music. He celebrates his multicultural and multiracial Creole heritage with a joy and exuberance that has touched audiences all over the world. His music has been featured in film and TV and he has shared studio and stage with notable artists from a variety of genres, racial and cultural backgrounds. Simien is a respected and proactive voice in music and Creole community.

Please cut and paste quotes from reviews and other publicity. If none, please indicate.

“This CD cements Simien's standing as the most creative, diverse musician in modern zydeco. But what ultimately makes this album a winner is the beauty of the songs that are driven purely by Simien's sweet flexible voice.” –Ted Drozdowski, Amazon.com
“Across the Parish Line is a testament to the diversity that has become one of the most appealing characteristics of his music. Simien is one of the finest zydeco artists to emerge from south Louisiana in the last quarter century, and he’s absolutely got it going on yet again this time.” Billboard (reporting on music since 1891)
“Zydeco remains at the core of Simien’s musical DNA, but his treatment of it continues to be progressive and innovative. He has hurdled over musical boundaries by incorporating other genres into his culturally ingrained zydeco long before such genre bending fusions became fashionable. The opening and closing tracks hint at where zydeco’s headed next: an ancient-sounding accordion surrounded by an avalanche of hip-hop beats, Jamaican dub echo, African vocals, and looping and sampling. With this crowning achievement in hand, Simien’s reign of creativity is far from over.” – Dan Willging, Offbeat
“Simien’s collaboration with Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo on ‘Cómo Viviré, Mi Cholita’ is a lively blast of blues-y Cuban fare, while his voice remains the sweetest thing this side of Sam Cooke. Nevertheless, it’s Simien’s interpretation of Randy Newman’s ‘Louisiana 1927’ that leaves a haunted impression that not only lingers but also draws the historical connotations of his wide-ranging influences sharply into focus.  1/2 stars (out of 5) – The Music Box
“Simien has pushed the frontier of zydeco music forward the past 20 years, taking the reins from Clifton Chenier and rocking it up just enough to capture the younger Anglo audience. On Across the Parish Line, he enlisted many guests to push the songs up a notch, but this is Terrance Simien’s album all the way. His playing and singing never sounding better and this shows the music is alive and well. A bon ton delight from beginning to end this is living proof that some things will last forever.” Bill Bentley, Encino Sun (note: Bill was w/Warner Bros. Music for 25 years)
“ Simien’s biggest asset is his phenomenal set of pipes; the guy draws obvious vocal influences from artists as diverse as Jimmy Cliff and Sam Cooke, then combines it with punctuating stabs of accordion. In Canadian terms, it’s like listening to Great Big Sea with a singer who could top the charts in Motown’s heyday.” Jeremy Loome, Edmonton Sun
“On his seventh album Simien once again welcomes both other musical styles and a variety of guest musicians into his orbit. For all of his eclecticism, he nevertheless manages to assert both his own identity and that of zydeco. In fact, he demonstrates that the music is capable of incorporating other sympathetic styles to its benefit.”  (out of 5) William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide (pro review)

Please summarize the activities for touring or school activities.

The Creole for Kidz & The History of Zydeco informance is a high quality performing arts experience presented with a 6 piece group. It is both informative and entertaining. The k-12 student audiences are engaged and participate at many different levels. Terrance creates an experience for his young and student audiences that helps them gain appreciation for a genre of music and Louisiana indigenous culture that is beyond the limits of mainstream music that most are exposed to. The need is as great In Louisiana because we need to become better informed about our own history and heritage. We need to be better stewards of our culture and become more articulate about our cultural assets. We have no music museums where our residents can learn about their own music, therefore making this program critical to our state.

“This project addresses a long standing need in Louisiana’s educational system which has regrettably ignored the critically important historical, cultural and linguistic contributions of the state’s large Creole community” Dr. Carl Brasseaux, Louisiana History ULL, Lafayette
“I've been teaching for 19 years, and I have searched high and low for information on the Acadiana Creoles. My Creole students hunger for information on this, and I have tried in vain to find a substantial enough amount of material to even teach a lesson. I congratulate you on your efforts and want to thank you for helping us to teach our students about their culture.” Liz Simoneaux Dorsey, Lafayette Middle School
“You performed today for Spirit Lake, IA elementary students and you rocked their world! Thanks for bringing great culture to our small town of sameness. We all loved the performance and I had a blast on stage" Angela, Spirit Lake Elementary
“THANK YOU so much for working with us on getting Terrance and the band in our community for close to a week. It has been the most heartwarming and empowering experience I have seen in my 9 years at Carnegie Hall. Terrance is the only one who has been able to get the students and teachers so involved in a show that they gave him and encore and the school ALLOWED it! The community is buzzing about the shows...they touched the hearts of over 2400 school children in our county. EVERY middle school student was able to have a zydeco experience. " Lynn Creamer, Artist Director, West Virginia
“This production was a huge success. The school and the Mayors Office continue to get calls almost daily from parents and teachers in thanks for the presentation they attended. During each performance the connection between Simien, his band and the teacher/student audience was almost palpable. While having the time of their lives, students and teachers were learning new things in an interactive environment while affirming each other’s diversity. It was beautiful to observe such a positive experience!”
Sabrina Beach, Development Director, Epiphany Day School

Do you provide a Teacher's Guide?

Yes

Please provide the details of your technical rider. Indicate where you have flexibility.

We require a full PA to accomodate 6 performers on stage. We have presented this program in a school with a dirt floor in the African bush of Mali. We tour with our own sound technician who makes miracles happen, however we have made a conscious decision to present a live music experience where sound quality is critical for all ages.

Required to give a dollar fee range. Please indicate your range with concise descriptions of activities at the upper and lower ends of the scale

Educational outreach in Louisiana: $1500 per day with a minimum of 2 days, 2 services per day, 4 hotel, basic hospitality and tech. Headline community concert performance min. $3500 w/an edu. add on of $1500. Without education add on the fee is $5000 for a community concert. Residency in Louisiana $15,000.00 for the week, multiple daily performances, teacher workshops, cooking demo, Q&A, VIP meet and greet, radio and TV.