Lafayette Musician Launches Free Monthly Zydeco Jam
ARNAUDVILLE, La. (press release) – Monthly Zydeco Jam sessions launch in Arnaudville Saturday, March 21, at NUNU Arts & Culture Collective and will happen every third Saturday with free admission.
Zydeco Izreal, born Israel Chaisson, an 18-year-old musician from Lafayette, seeks to bring community, culture and tradition together through the new Zydeco Jam series at NUNU.
Chaisson created the sessions to preserve and pass on Louisiana’s Creole music heritage.
Monthly Zydeco Jam Details
The Zydeco Jams are open, acoustic jam sessions welcoming musicians of all skill levels, from beginners picking up an instrument for the first time to seasoned players with decades of experience.
Chaisson intends for the jams to create a space where learning happens naturally: by listening, playing, sharing stories and honoring the history behind the music.
“These jams are how our culture has always survived,” said Chaisson. “You learn the music by being in the room, listening to the rhythms, watching the elders play and feeling the history come alive.”
Zydeco jams are an increasingly rare part of Louisiana’s musical landscape.
According to Chaisson, fewer than five Zydeco jams take place statewide each month, making missions like these essential for keeping the tradition alive.
These sessions offer the power of unpredictability–participants never know which musicians may walk through the door, sit in or pass along knowledge that can’t be found in books or classrooms.
Inagural Session
When: Saturday, March 21, 2 – 4 p.m. (and every third Saturday thereafter)
Where: NUNU Arts & Culture Collective, 1510 Courtableau Hwy., Arnaudville, La.
Admission: Free
Food and beverages will be available for purchase from Café NUNU.
NUNU is a cultural cornerstone of Southwest Louisiana, serving as a gathering place for musicians, artists, dancers and tradition bearers dedicated to sustaining local culture.
Holding the jam at NUNU connects the event to a long legacy of cultural preservation. The space itself reflects the mission of the jam: to create community, encourage participation and ensure that Zydeco, a traditional Louisiana music, continues to be learned in the way it always has — person to person.
With Zydeco Jams, Chaisson hopes to inspire younger generations to engage with their cultural roots while giving longtime musicians a welcoming place to share their knowledge. The jam is not a performance, but a living tradition that thrives on openness, community and respect for the music’s history.
