Annual Mardi Gras Dance Benefit with Joe Hall & The Cane Cutters

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KGNU Community Radio and Colorado Friends of Cajun-Zydeco Music and Dance (CFCZ) celebrate Mardi Gras on Saturday, February 3, 2024, with an evening of revelry, music and dancing featuring Joe Hall & The Louisiana Canecutters.

This is a benefit event for both KGNU Community Radio and CFCZ. KGNU has been broadcasting on the Front Range for over 45 years at 88.5 FM and 1390 AM in Boulder/Denver, 98.7FM in Fort Collins, 93.7 FM in Nederland, 99.1 FM in Central Denver, online at KGNU.org via our mobile app. @kgnu.org.

The Colorado Friends of Cajun-Zydeco Music and Dance is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring Louisiana French culture, music, and dance to the Front Range. More information at cfcz.org.

This annual event takes place at The Avalon Ballroom in Boulder, where the spacious dance floor has been filled with dancers for the last 35 years. This year, Longmont City Councilwoman and KGNU Vice-Chair Shiquita Yarbrough will emcee the event.

Early Bird Price

$40 until midnight, December 31, 2023.
$44 until midnight February 2, 2024.
$49/door / $20 with valid student ID. Dance Lesson Included with Admission
Reserved seating is available by purchasing a table for you and your friends. Be your own Kingfish: 8 seats for $350.00

Food & Drinks: La Rue Bayou will be selling scrumptious Cajun/Creole food onsite. Wine, beer and soft drinks are also available for purchase. Complimentary King Cake will be served after the Mardi Gras costume contest with prizes. Be sure to jest (dress) in your festive best!

BIO: Joe Hall & The Cane Cutters
Even though Joe Hall never toiled in the fields like many of his Creole sharecropper ancestors, the Southwest Louisiana native is a self-described ‘old soul.’ Through his grandfather “King” Ned, a great accordionist who was recorded by the Smithsonian Institute, Hall inherited his talent and love for playing the accordion. He used to play his grandfather’s accordion while Ned was away, and by the time the elder discovered his grandson was sneaking around to pump his loud little box, Hall was surprisingly proficient. From there, Hall regularly visited the elder statesmen of Creole music, “Bois Sec” Ardoin, Canray Fontenot, Carlton Frank, and Calvin Carrière. Carlton’s brother Paul once told him, “If you stay the way you are and don’t let anyone change you, then one day the world will know about you.” Hall admits he never aspired to be the ‘hot rod’ player but prefers to reach back as far as possible to represent the essence of Creole, Zydeco, and Cajun tradition. By following his heart and not the trendy practitioners, Hall eventually found his musical identity. “If I had played like everybody else, I would never have found myself.” To date, Hall has 10 CDs, the latest being Mélange, meaning mixture, a perfect way to describe the time-honored Southwest Louisiana indigenous styles he plays fluently.