Dewey Balfa

Well for this week I wanted to do a artist spotlight, and this week ive chosen the great fiddle player Dewey Balfa!

An impassioned ambassador for Cajun music and culture, fiddler and singer Dewey Balfa (1927-1992) was a driving force in the revival of traditional Cajun music. Together with his brothers Will, Rodney, Harry, and Burkeman, and later his nephew Tony and daughter Christine, Balfa introduced the vibrant sound of Cajun music to countless people around the world and used his role as a musical ambassador to reawaken a deep and abiding sense of pride in Cajun music amongst his fellow Cajuns.

Dewey was one of nine children born into a musical family in Grand Louis, Louisiana, a small farm town in rural Louisiana not far from the slightly larger town of Mamou, 125 miles northwest of the great port city of New Orleans. In terms of culture, Louisiana is one of America's wealthiest states, and the Balfa family had inherited the rich legacy of songs, tunes, tales, and traditions of Louisiana's French-speaking Cajun community.

You can read more Here at Smithsonian Folkways.


Dewey Balfa was not only one of the greatest cajun fiddlers of all time but a he had a wonderful singing voice. So please enjoy this video of his music and life story.