December Mornings at Fred's Lounge

There aren't all that many places across the sleepy countryside of Acadiana where you'll find drinks flowing and music blaring before noon on a Saturday. But at Fred's Lounge in Mamou, it's like clockwork, and the clock is set precisely from 9 am to 1:30 pm, with only a few exceptions. Dubbed the birthplace of Cajun music, this morningtime dancehall has been around since 1948 and has made its mark worldwide. Despite regular visitors from the Brits and Aussies, chances are 7 to 1 that you'll grasp bits of the local French language while you're there—if you can hear at all over the sound of Cajun accordions and fiddles straining away at their two-steps, which perform doubly for the patrons as well as for the listeners at home, tuning into KVPI's weekly Fred's Lounge Radio Broadcast. Here is what's on the schedule for this month: 

December 7: Don Fontenot

December 14: Donny Broussard

December 21: Lafayette Rhythm Devils 

December 28: Troy LeJeune

All shows are  9 am–1:30 pm. 

[Read about writer Alex Cook's experience at Fred's in this story from our October 2010 issue: Making Merry in Mamou.]