The 25th annual Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival will rock once again at Memorial Day weekend, May 24-25, at Rancho Santa Susanna Community Park, 5005 Los Angeles Ave., in Simi Valley. The event features two full stages for each of its musical genres. Music will proceed non-stop each day from 12 noon until 7:30 p.m. Tickets, $22 adults 13+ ($20 online until May 1) and $15 children 7-12, are available online at http://www.simicajun.org or at the gate. Parking is ample and free. Fast-moving California Hwy. 118 (Ronald Reagan Freeway) can be taken to the Stearns Street exit; the festival is four blocks south.
The blues stage presents its strongest bill ever featuring Robert Randolph & the Family Band, the American funk and soul ensemble led by pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph; Los Angeles-based Southern soul and blues legend Swamp Dogg; British blues patriarch John Mayall; blues revival pioneers Canned Heat; Texas-born bluesman Guitar Shorty; and Blues Music Award-winning singer and guitarist Tommy Castro. The blues stage will also feature Flattop Tom & His Jump Cats, Nancy & the Nightcrawlers, Dennis Jones and Andy Walo.
Meanwhile, on the Cajun-Zydeco stage, C.J. Cheneir brings the Red Hot Louisiana Band, assembled by his father, Zydeco king, Grammy Lifetime Achievement winner Clifton Chenier. Veteran Zydeco accordionist Nathan Williams Sr. will appear, as will Nathan Williams Jr. & His Zydeco Big Timers. Dwayne Dopsie, hailing from one of the top Zydeco families in the world, will front the Zydeco Hellraisers. Feufollet presents their indie-rock-influenced Cajun music. Southern California’s own Lisa Haley & the Zydecats, a popular attraction at the festival for many years, will return, as will Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic and the Bayou Brothers.
The annual Mardi Gras Parade will take place both days at 4 p.m.