Beb, people in St. Martin Parish don’t like to leave St. Martin Parish,” Maegan Berard Rankin explains to me in her rich Cecilia accent, with a gentle smile and a motherly tap on the arm.
Full disclosure, I have been friends with Maegan and the Sweet Cecilia Girls since I was in my early twenties. After giving them a hard time constantly about never getting to see them anywhere but at a gig, they all agree that the “big city” of Lafayette is great, but not their preferred speed.

Born in the bosom of the rice fields of Judice in the wet winter of 1976, Bas Clas (a Cajun insult for those deemed “low-class”) developed quite a following in Acadiana. They were different from other bands in that they did very few cover tunes, concentrating instead on original music, mostly written by guitarist/vocalist Donnie Picou. Along with younger brother Steve, bassist Geoff Thistlethwaite and drummer Ted Cobena, Bas Clas not only had a following in this area, they also caught the ear of influential record people.

Musicians and artists enrich our lives, inspire passion, and bring joy to others — invaluable in engaging and bringing the community together. Relying on freelance or contract work, many creatives can’t afford health insurance. “With an older musician or artist, when they’re not able to work, they don’t have 401(k)s or a retirement plan, so how do they take care of themselves?” asked Johnathan Williams, founder and CEO of Quality of Life Services (an elder care service), president of the nonprofit Love of People and co-founder of Blue Monday Mission, operating as a non-profit under the Love of People Umbrella.

Known primarily for his nearly three decades of rockin’ and rollin’ with Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars, pianist/songwriter Eric Adcock has been drawn to beats since a young age. “I was always motivated by sound and rhythm,” Adcock explained. “I was that kid standing up in the station wagon with the windshield wipers going left and right, feeling that beat.” Adcock is Louisiana roots, rock ‘n’ roll, funk, jazz and blues. He has sat behind a piano since he was five years old, and he’s proficient on the Hammond B-3 organ — both self-taught.

Coming into 2020, singer/songwriter/guitarist Michael Juan Nunez had his musical plans laid out, his course mapped. As the year opened, he had just finished the sessions for a new record, with festival gigs and tours on the West Coast and Europe primed and ready to go. “We finished it (the new album), and we rushed it through mastering,” Nunez said, leaning forward on the overstuffed sofa in the living room of his house in Erath, Louisiana. “I got the artwork together. The week we were going to press, we got a call from Baton Rouge Blues Fest. Then (New Orleans) Jazz Fest. We had the West Coast tour cancelled. Then the European tour.” Nunez’s new record and tours had fallen victim to the pandemic — a sign of the time not only for him, but also other musicians.

Singer-songwriter and pianist Julie Williams knows a thing or two about birthright. Known for her soulful etudes and unique sound, Williams grew up in a musical-ministry family, joining her worship-leader father onstage at the tender age of four. “It was, ‘Either learn how to play music or sing, or you’re out, kid!’” Williams joked. “I grew up onstage, literally. That was invaluable because normally you have to pay for your kid to be able to learn stuff like that.” She spent her early days performing with her family band. Years later, she furthered her talent while studying classical piano in college.