When C.J. Chenier’s father, the Grammy-winning “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier passed away, C.J. stepped in as the leader of his Red Hot Louisiana Band. (Zydeco is a genre of music from southwestern Louisiana with roots in French and Afro-Caribbean styles.) On Thursday, C.J., who’s toured with the likes of Paul Simon and John Mayall, brought the Red Hot Louisiana Band to Caffè Lena, wowing the crowd with soulful vocals and accordion-driven rock, zydeco and blues.
Before the show, Hattie’s Restaurant offered a prix fixe menu, consisting of hush puppies, fried green tomatoes, jambalaya, gumbo and, of course, fried chicken, just for concert goers to experience full Cajun immersion. saratoga living photographer Francesco D’Amico was at Caffè Lena for the show, and snapped some shots of the upbeat, feel-good performance. Click through the gallery at the top of the page to see them.
