Louisiana Crossroads

Horace Trahan, the maker of the hit single, “That Butt ...

K.C. Jones moves so effortlessly between genres, traditions, and musical concepts that it’s clear she was born with an insatiable artistic curiosity. As a teenager, she emerged from a deeply musical Appalachian family to become one of the foremost singers, guitarists, and dancers in old-time music. Moving to Southwest Louisiana, she quickly learned Cajun French and began writing preternaturally gifted original songs in dual languages with progressive Cajun bands like GRAMMY-nominated Feufollet and T’Monde. Both of these jumping off points, what she casually refers to as “obsessions,” have fueled the music on her debut solo record, Queen of the In Between, due out June 18, 2021, but she also seamlessly references so much more, everything from classic country to psychedelic rock to contemporary indie roots singer-songwriters. Jones is a fearless bandleader, weaving together an opus that sounds remarkably cohesive. She’s roaming the halls of 20th century Americana synthesizing a century’s worth of music with ease. It’s not simply a meld of seemingly disparate influences; Queen of the in Between dazzles in its ability to speak to the universality of human emotion. Though New Orleans is lauded as America’s great musical crucible, 100 miles west as the crow flies lies another key Louisiana musical microcosm (and K.C. Jones’ home of 15 years): the city parish of Lafayette. Though well known as the epicenter of Cajun and Creole music, there’s another world bubbling below the surface in Lafayette: a community of young, master musicians—many influenced by the traditional music of the area and the South more generally—defiantly looking ahead and beyond. With fashion shoots in the streets, packed bars pre-COVID, and trail rides into the countryside, Lafayette’s become a defining force in modern Louisiana roots music and K.C. Jones is an integral part of this scene. She’s drawing from Lafayette’s best to make up the band on the new record, from Chris Stafford (pedal steel, guitars, keys, vocals), Trey Boudreaux (bass), and Jim Kolacek (drums, percussion), to notable Cajun musician and producer Joel Savoy (guitars, vocals), who recorded and produced the album at his GRAMMY-winning studio. Jones approached the recording sessions with intention, bringing near fully-formed ideas about sonic palettes and arrangements along with her. “We went out to Eunice and stayed there for a week, and we were really in the zone,” says Jones. “We were trying to create a mood, a kind of a bubble. It was a great atmosphere to create without the distractions of the outside world.” ...

Prepare for a night of timeless soul and R&B as ...