River Ranch Shopping Blog: August 2009

The Village of River Ranch will kick off its popular fall concert series, Rhythms on the River, on Thursday, September 24th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the River Ranch Town Square. Local favorite, Nik-L-Beer, will open the series. However, on October 8th, the big headline of the series will be the well-loved Carencro native, Marc Broussard. This is Broussard’s first appearance on the Rhythms stage and a huge crowd will be anticipated. Grammy nominated Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys and the Lost Bayou Ramblers are also on the bill. Local hot shots like GTO & the “D” Street Brass Band and Louisiana Red also grace the fall lineup along with pianist/singer David Egan. The series will come to an end on November 12th with the legendary musicians of the band, Lil’ Band O’ Gold, who recently produced a documentary about swamp pop music, The Promised Land, and resurrected swamp pop tradition while putting its own stamp on the rock music coming out of Southwest Louisiana. C.C. Adcock is Lil’ Band O’ Gold’s ringleader, as well as one of its vocalists and guitarists. The standard lineup of the swamp pop super group includes drummer Warren Storm, accordionist Steve Riley, pianist David Egan, pedal steel player Richard Comeaux, bassist Dave Ranson, and saxophonists Pat Breaux and Dickie Landry. The Promised Land, which was featured at the Tribecca and Cannes film festivals, will be shown in the Town Square for an hour prior to the band’s performance as they close out the series.
In addition, River Ranch Institute has once again invited Community Foundation of Acadiana to partner them with the goal of featuring a nonprofit organization at each Rhythms on the River. Eight nonprofits, schools, or churches will be selected through a competitive application process and will be featured at each performance under the Community Foundation’s tent. A crowd ranging from 1000 to 4000 shows up weekly for the series, so the goal of the partnership is to educate the Rhythms audience about the organizations that are making a difference in the lives of Acadiana residents every day.

Rhythms on the River runs every Thursday evening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. for eight performances beginning September 24th and running through November 12th. Offered free to the public, Lafayette natives and the rest of our Louisiana neighbors are invited to join us for great food, drink and live music.

ALL CONCERTS FREE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC! NO ICE CHESTS, PLEASE!

If you are not a Lafayette native or have out of town guests and need hotel accommodations, please call the Carriage House Hotel for rates on their luxury suites at (337) 769-8400 or visit www.thecarriagehousesuites.com.

Rhythms on the River 2009 Fall Series Lineup:

9/24/09 Nik-L-Beer (Variety)

10/1/09 Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys (Cajun)

10/8/09 Marc Broussard (Bayou Soul - Mix of Funk, Blues, R&B, Rock, and Pop)

10/15/09 Louisiana Red (Variety 50’s, 60’s, Pop & Cajun)

10/22/09 David Egan (Jazz, Blues & Roots)

10/29/09 Lost Bayou Ramblers (Contemporary Cajun, Creole & Zydeco)

11/5/09 GTO & the “D” Street Brass Band (Retro Rock)

11/12/09 Lil’ Band O’ Gold (Swamp pop)

For more information on this great community event, please contact Candace Greer with the River Ranch Institute at (337) 216-6529 or visit www.riverranchdevelopment.com