Cajun Zydeco Festival

Mississippi may claim to be "The Birthplace of America's Music" but they can expect an argument to the contrary from neighboring Louisiana every time that claim is stated publicly. The Bayou State has not only given birth to jazz, brass bands, R&B, rock and roll, gospel, swamp pop and various sub-genres of country/western and hip hop, it also birthed Cajun music and its hybrid offspring, Zydeco.

The latter genres, Cajun and Zydeco, are celebrated every year on the second weekend of June during the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival.

This fabulous FREE(!) event is held on the grounds of the Old U.S. Mint on the edge of the French Quarter, between the French Market and Esplanade Avenue. The festivities begin at 11:00 a.m. and run continuously through until 7:00 p.m. on both the Saturday and Sunday of the event. Two widely separated stages are set up where music can be performed simultaneously without clashing with each other.