Fais Do-Do With Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band

Tipitina's weekly fais do-do is a beloved New Orleans ritual: a traditional Cajun dance led by Bruce Daigrepont and his Cajun Band. Raised in a family that kept Cajun French alive in New Orleans after migrating from Avoyelles Parish, Daigrepont learned guitar from his father and later took up the accordion after hearing it at Festival Acadiens. By the early 1980s he was leading his own band and making Cajun dancing part of the city's nightlife.

The dance turns Tipitina's into a gathering place where accordion and guitar fuel a floor full of dancers. Daigrepont has carried the music far beyond New Orleans—to Lincoln Center, Wolf Trap, folk festivals across North America, and tours through France, Belgium, Holland, and Scandinavia—yet the weekly dance remains its heart. His annual homecomings to the Acadian communities of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia capture the deeper meaning of the music: when a hockey rink in Buctouche sings along to 'Marksville Two-Step,' it's pure cultural reunion.