The Wild Magnolias June 8, 2008

One of New Orleans' venerable Mardi Gras Indian tribes (actually African-American), The Wild Magnolias perform and record only sporadically, but when they do it's always a funky party. The Pine Leaf Boys are a new generation of Cajun musicians from Louisiana who not only grew up with the music but live and breathe it. They play authentic, traditional Cajun, Creole and zydeco music while adding some updates of their own. The group is famous for its hard-driving approach to Cajun music that had one Boston Globe reviewer comparing them to the irresistible jazz swing of Django Reinhardt. The core group membership is Balfa (guitar, vocals), Dirk Powell (accordion) and Courtney Granger (vocals, fiddle).