In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Arhoolie Records throws the party of a lifetime, with panels (see link to Arhoolie’s website for time & locations), discussions, fantastic regional foods, a “second line“ parade Saturday 4 pm with the Tremé Brass Band, plus three amazing concerts with proceeds benefiting the Arhoolie Foundation. The second night of the celebration features a fabulous lineup of down home Cajun, jazz, and jug band music, with the Goodtime Washboard 3, Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Barbara Dane w/ Bob Mielke Jazz All-Stars and Lars Edegran, Creole Belles, and the Tremè Brass Band, all emceed by the illustrious Nick Spitzer, host of the popular public radio program American Routes.

Purveying rootsy jug band music at its finest, The Goodtime Washboard 3 features Bruce Bratton on washtub bass and vocals, Wayne Pope on washboard, and Peter Arnott on banjo and vocals. Notorious for playing raucous sets at college hangouts in the 1960's, the group is perhaps best known for the song it wrote in praise of "Oakland".

Raucous dancehall tunes, heart-rending ballads, and ridiculous nonsense, liberally spiced with fiery instrumental breaks and warm, congenial humor: the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band present the full spectrum of traditional Cajun life with down-home style and amazing virtuosity. Marc Savoy provides invigorating traditional accordion work, Michael Doucet adds incendiary fiddling and heart-stopping singing, and Ann Savoy holds everything together with her sure-fingered rhythm guitar and earthy, passionate vocals. Jazz and blues diva Barbara Dane is joined for an utterly swingin set by Bob Mielke's All-Stars, featuring Dixieland jazz legend Lars Edegran on piano. A vital part of the Bay Area jazz scene for more than 60 years, bandleader and trombonist Bob is joined by Rick Elmore (trombones), Bill McGinnis (drums), Marty Eggers (bass), Tony Marcus (guitar), and Richard Hadlock (reeds). Bringing the raw, driving sound of southwest Louisiana dancehalls to California, the all-women band Creole Belles includes fiddler Delilah Lee Lewis, accordionist Maureen Karpan, Karen Leigh on guitar, and Julay Brooks on stand-up bass—all of them sing. The Tremè Brass Band is a marching brass band from New Orleans, led by snare drummer Benny Jones, Sr. An intergenerational standard-bearer for the marching band tradition, the Tremé band specializes in the jazzed-up hymn tunes that have been the stock in trade of marching bands playing for the city's famous jazz funeral parades, as well as a wide grab-bag of old-time jazz numbers and some hot originals.

Founded by Chris Strachwitz in 1960, Arhoolie Records is one of the premier roots record labels, with the best in blues, Cajun, Zydeco, Tex-Mex/Tejano, gospel, jazz, country, bluegrass, and regional music from around the world. Through the years, Chris has recorded both known and obscure artists, and brought their music to wider audiences. Among the notable musicians who have recorded for Arhoolie are Big Mama Thornton, Flaco Jimenez, Clifton Chenier, Lightning Hopkins, Rose Maddox, and many more.

The entire event is a benefit for the Arhoolie Foundation, a public, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of authentic traditional and regional vernacular music, while recognizing the sustaining role this music plays in local communities: "Despite neglect and exploitation, local and regional traditions still symbolize and sustain many communities. Each ballad, blues, fiddle tune, hymn or dance form reaffirms communal spirit and builds pride." To learn more about the Arhoolie Foundation, visit www.arhoolie.org.

For afternoon panel and film details visit the Arhoolie Records website. These events are free for any evening ticket holders and $5.00 for the general public.

Full schedule of Arhoolie Celebration events.

Listen to tracks from Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Barbara Dane, Bob Mielke, Creole Belles, The Tremè Brass Band: