The Opelousas Museum & Interpretive Center is a great destination for those interested in the civil war, zydeco music, Native American history, or any traveler looking for things to do in Opelousas. The museum explores the history and culture of the Opelousas area from prehistoric times to the present. The Main Exhibit Room tells the story of the Opelousas Indians and the first settlers. The other side of the exhibit space focuses on zydeco, a popular music genre fostered right here in Opelousas. Other exhibits include the Civil War Room, The Geraldine Smith Welch Doll Collection, the Louisiana Video Collection Library, the Rodney Milburn Exhibit, and the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival Archives.
Bonnie and Clyde Connection: Star Barber Shop
Did you know Bonnie and Clyde had a connection to Opelousas? Yes, and this is how that story goes:
It was early May 1934, a pleasant morning in Opelousas, and the town seemed calm and peaceful. As the story goes, when Mr. Welch approached the Shute's Drug Store building, where his Star Barber Shop was located, on the corner of Landry and Court streets, a car drove up.
The 1934 Ford parked on Landry Street right in front of the barber shop. A young man jumped out and asked if he was the barber. Mr. Welch replied yes. The man demanded a shave. Mr. Welch was very surprised at the request, and glancing towards the car he spotted a small, petite woman sitting in the passenger seat with a machine gun on her lap. She picked up the gun and told the barber the man meant what he said. Fumbling for his keys, Otis opened the door to oblige his first customer of the day.
As the barber prepared to give the man a shave, he looked out the window to see what the woman was doing. By then she was standing in front of the car, holding the gun, keeping lookout. Welch began shaving her companion. No words were spoken. With a lot of care, he hurried to get the job done. Soon, it was over. The man reached in his pocket to pull out money to pay. Mr. Welch told him not to bother, the shave was on the house. With that, the stranger walked out the door. He yelled to his women friend to get going. The car, with wheels squealing, sped off, turning onto Court Street and headed north.
Mr. Welch just scratched his head. He was sure he knew those two people. He had seen their pictures on a wanted poster in the post office, just across the street, and read about the two in the newspapers. He could not believe that he had just shaved outlaw Clyde Barrow, as his girlfriend Bonnie Parker stood watch. And he survived the ordeal!
Zydeco Music capital :: Museum
Zydeco music fuses old Creole tunes and rhythms with blues and soul. This uniquely different sound was born right here in Opelousas
Why Opelousas, you ask? It starts with family. Thousands of the black Creole families in Opelousas and the surrounding parishes of Evangeline, Acadia and Lafayette have zydeco musicians somewhere in their family trees.
The French-speaking, black sharecroppers of the Opelousas area started this music 100 years ago as la musique Creole or "La La" music. After a hard day's work in the field, people moved the furniture out of the living room, grabbed an accordion and a washboard and if only for a moment, the blues of the day was a distant memory. At the La La, our ancestors could forget about the hot sun and bo weevils in the cotton, wages that were cheated from them, the colored-only signs on the water fountains and back doors, sickness that could kill overnight. Musicians with family names of Ardoin, Broussard, Carrier, Sam, Delafose, Frank, Rubin, Fontenot, Reynolds, Andrus, Lazard and others played music from the heart. Some never recorded or made very few records. Many of these old musicians were better than those who went on to become recording stars. But at the top of the mountain is an Opelousas native who proudly brought the "La La" house party music to a world stage. That's the late, great king of zydeco, Clifton Chenier. Every zydeco artist, living or dead, has been influenced by this superb musician. In the 1950s, Clifton took the old Creole music, combined it with R&B, soul, country and blues and gave us what the world knows today as zydeco.
Zydeco Music :
"Zydeco Music is a unique form of musical expression that originated in rural southwest Louisiana. Locally known as "la la" music, Zydeco music was formed and forged in a time best forgotten–a time when African-Americans had to struggle in the fields from sunup to sundown as sharecroppers so that their children might reap a better life. It was these backbreaking hard times that help to define one of the most vibrant and successful musical traditions in the world. The phrase "Zydeco sont pas sale'" means "The snapbeans are not Salty" in Creole French, and the music draws upon French, Creole, West African, Cajun, Caribbean, and R & B musical traditions. Zydeco Music is characterized by the use of the accordion, spoons, scrubboard, fiddle and triangle.
You are invited the monthly Jam session :
Bring your favorite instrument and jam or sit back and appreciate the music. Every month, our executive director, Herman Fuselier, invites zydeco musicians to lead the jam. They can range from world-famous names to hidden gems from the parish. These jam sessions are your opportunity to hear your favorite songs, play with friends, and experience the Gumbo For Your Soul that is zydeco music.
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