Lost Bayou Ramblers Release Live Recording of Concert with LPO

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), the region’s premier orchestra, and GRAMMY ® Award-winning LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS released the recording of their world premiere collaboration concert from the LPO’s 22-23 season at the Orpheum Theater. The live concert, recorded during the performance on January 15, 2023.

LPO executive director Anwar Nasir called it a “tremendous honor” in a statement Sept. 29.“Artists like the Lost Bayou Ramblers are deeply seeded within Louisiana’s musical identity and are vessels of our state’s cherished Cajun culture to the music industry at large,” he said.

The album kicks off with “The Bathtub,” and features other cinematic tracks the Ramblers performed in the 2012 Oscar-nominated indie film “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” It also prominently features songs from the group’s 2017 EP “Kalenda."

It’s not the first time the Ramblers have teamed up with the LPO. In 2015, for example, the orchestra backed the band on a live showing of “Beasts," which sold out at the Saenger Theater. Plus, frontman Louis Michot is known for blending a variety of genres into his music, including punk rock and rap. Still, the collaboration is a distinctive one, linking the LPO’s classically trained artists with the evolving traditions of Cajun and zydeco. The LPO has heralded it as a “redefinition of the orchestral concert experience.”

It also is part of a greater push by the LPO to appeal to younger and more diverse audiences. The orchestra has been hosting happy hours at bars and smaller music venues throughout the year and partnered with artists spanning different genres of Louisiana music, including Big Freedia.

"Collaborations like this honor the dynamic culture and traditions of Louisiana," said LPO's Music Director Laureate Carlos Miguel Prieto. "I am overjoyed that music lovers from all over can experience authentic Louisiana music through this memorable album.”