Category: Cajun/Zydeco

On Friday It’s Live Burrito Brothers, Our Big New Orleans EP, and The Turtles ‘In the Spotlight’ Later, August 15, 2025

Good morning, musicologists. We woke up with the NOLA bug this morning, so we’re giving you our big New Orleans EP this afternoon!

Here’s your Finally Friday musical lineup:

10:00 a.m. The Flying Burrito Brothers Live at The Bottom Line, New York, NY, August 18, 1976

This is the iteration of the Burrito Brothers after both Gram Parsona and Chris Hillman left the band. This lineup includes Skip Battin, Gene Parsons, Gib Guilbeau, Joel Scott Hill, and “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow. To answer a question, no, Gene Parsons and Gram Parsons are not related in any way (either by blood or marriage). Gene Parsons is best known for his invention of the B-bender guitar and as the drummer for The Byrds.

1:00 p.m. Down in New Orleans: Various Artists

I love New Orleans on every level, but the music and the food stand out. This EP is a wide catch, not only delivering authentic Louisiana music, but also featuring the artists who were born and raised in New Orleans. You’ll hear BeauSoleil, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Allen Fontenot, Aaron Neville, Lucinda Williams, Boozoo Chavis, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Louis Armstrong, Queen Ida & The Bon Temps Zydeco Band, The Daywalkers, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, La Touche, The Neville Brothers, Clifton Chenier, Chance Bushman, The Creole Zydeco Band, The (magnificent) Magnolia Sisters, and more!

8:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of The Turtles

Yeah, one of those sixties greats formed in 1965 that pumped out a bunch of hits in the late sixties. If Happy Together doesn’t make you sing loud while you’re driving with the windows down, there’s really something wrong with you. Tonight they’re ‘In the Spotlight.’

Once again, the standard closing: We’re here 24/7. We’re free of charge and with absolutely no commercial interruption. I’m the only DJ, and I don’t talk much. I’d rather play you music. The button is below.

The Button.

We Head Down to Loosiana on Friday, Then It’s a Norah Jones ‘Spotlight,’ and Live Jefferson Airplane On June 6, 2025

Good morning, musicologists. It’s not just the food that’s great in New Orleans. The music is too! It’s on every street corner every day. It’s in the bars on Bourbon Street. Today, it’s in The Mermaid Lounge!

Here’s your Friday musical mayhem:

9:00 a.m. Down in New Orleans: Various Artists

Yes, we’re due for an upgrade here and we’ll be getting to that soon. However, it’s pretty fantastic right now as we give you authentic NOLA music along with music from rock and rollers who were born and raised there! You’ll hear BeauSoleil, Clifton Chenier, Allen Toussaint, Buckwheat Zydeco, Fats Domino, Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, Tony Joe White(and his girl Polk Salad Annie), Professor Longhair, Irma Thomas (The Soul Queen of New Orleans), Lucinda Williams, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chance Bushman, Boozoo Chavis, The Magnolia Sisters, and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Norah Jones

This afternoon we hear from Norah Jones, a Grammy Award winning singer and songwriter who has a famous father and sister as well in Ravi and Anoushka Shankar. Not everyone knows that little piece of musical trivia.

8:00 p.m. Jefferson Airplane Live at The Matrix Club, San Francisco, CA, February 1, 1968

We’re in the Wayback Machine this evening as we head to San Francisco for a live performance from one of the groundbreaking psychedelic music bands in history fronted by the legendary Grace Slick.

We keep rolling along here in The Lounge with our vast musical library of more than 27,000 songs. We don’t just play the same 100-song set over and over like other stations, and we have a serious committment to the women of music. They’re not just an afterthought here. See for yourselves. The button is below.

Down in New Orleans!

It’s Sunday Funday With a new Jesse Colin Young ‘Spotlight,’ Volume Two of The Sixties Rotation, and the Magnolia Sisters Live in Simi Valley, On May 25, 2025

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

9:00 a.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Jesse Colin Young NEW!

Singer-songwriter Jesse Colin Young may mostly be remembered with his time in The Youngbloods, and the people’s anthem, Get Together, but he had a long career and made a ton of great music. We lost him earlier in 2025, and we should have given him a ‘Spotlight’ sooner. He’s here now.

1:00 p.m. The Original Sixties Rotation, Volume Two: Various Artists

This afternoon we spend our time in the wayback machine with the artists of the sixties, including The Beatles, The Mamas & Papas, The Hollies, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Buffalo Springfield, Sly & The Family Stone, Tommy James & The Shondells, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Steppenwolf, The Turtles, Three Dog Night, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Blind Faith, Chuck Berry, Stevie Wonder, The Doors, Vanilla Fudge and more!

8:00 p.m. The Magnolia Sisters Live at The Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival, Rancho Santa Susana Community Park, Simi Valley, CA, May 23, 2015

The only known all-woman, authentic Cajun band, led by Ann Savoy, is back with an excellent performance at the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival. We love their stuff here in The Mermaid Lounge.

We’re into the weekend, folks. Time to kick back. The Orange Scourge is probably playing golf. Tomorrow begins more battles for our sanity. But today? Turn on the tunes. We’re free. The button is below.

Sunday Funday!

On Monday It’s ‘By The Numbers’, Live BeauSoleil, and the Paul & Elvis Catalogue, April 7, 2025

Happy Monday, working class! It has been rainy for days here in the Boston area, but it’s just fine here in The Mermaid Lounge as we bring you some great programming today, including a brand new playlist of Paul (McCartney) & Elvis (Costello) music!

Here’s your Monday, Monday lineup:

10:00 a.m. By The Numbers: Various Artists

We open up the day with a playlist of songs with numbers in the title, lyrics or both with Three Dog Night, Chicago, Mudcrutch, J.J. Cale, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Alice Cooper, Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin, Wilson Pickett, Johnny Rivers, Emmylou Harris, The Grass Roots, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, John Lennon, Prince and more.

4:00 p.m. BeauSoleil Live at The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, March 24, 2007

BeauSoleil happens to be one of the premier, if not the premier, Cajun/Zydeco Band in the world. Today we’ve got them live from Williamstown, Massachusetts.

8:00 p.m. Paul & Elvis: The Collaboration NEW!

That’s McCartney and Costello, who formed a musical alliance in 1987 and produced a series of fantastic songs later used on each other’s albums. Today we have the results of that alliance, along with one memorable live performance of The Beatles’ One After 909, recorded at St. James Palace in London on March 23, 1995. (Costello is a noted Beatles fan.)

Yeah, Monday’s pretty much suck, but we’re here to make them better. We can decidedly make yours better today if you give us a chance. We’re totally free and, even better, we run no commercial advertising. See for yourself how good Monday can be. The button is below.

Paul & Elvis.

Friday Is A Day For Our Big, Wide Open Stream With The Music Mermaid Fully In Charge, On April 4, 2025

We’ve got an Open Stream day today, giving you hours of our extensively eclectic musical collection with absolutely no commercial interruption. The Music Mermaid is fully in charge and who knows what she’ll do. She could actually even chose a playlist, or a trifecta, or she could just choose to let our file of 30,000 songs run free and wild. You won’t know unless you tune us in!

The button is, of course, below.

Big, Wide Open Stream!

Saturday Brings Songs From ‘Down In New Orleans’, a Lennon-McCartney ‘Spotlight’, and Live Traffic on March 1, 2025

Good morning, Weekenders, and welcome to The Mermaid Lounge where we are celebrating Mardi Gras in style, then it’s Lennon-McCartney and Traffic later!

Here’s your Saturday musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Down In New Orleans: Various Artists

Mardi Gras officially falls on the fourth, but our big celebration is today with our great multi-artist EP featuring authentic Louisiana music along with artists who have been born and bred in Louisiana. You’ll hear BeauSoleil, Clifton Chenier, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco, Tony Joe White, Lucinda Williams, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Irma Thomas, The Boogaloo Swamis, The Neville Brothers, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Queen Ida & The Bon Temps Zydeco Band, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Daywalkers and more!

4:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Lennon-McCartney

This afternoon we spin some of the best songs from the greatest songwriting duo in music history.

8:00 p.m. Traffic Live at The Paris Theatre, London, UK, April 30, 1970

We close out the programming (but not the music) with Traffic live from London’s Paris Theatre.

We’re here. We’re not going anywhere. And we play some of the greatest music on the planet at no charge to you, our listening public, and with absolutely no commercial interruption. The button is below.

The Button.

On Thursday, It’s Nothing But Our Big, Wide Open Stream, February 20, 2025

Here we are headed for the weekend once again. We’re on our big, wide Open Stream for the next 24 hours!

Dive in. The Music Mermaid is in charge today, all day, all night. She will not disappoint. The button is below.

Open Stream All Day!

We’re Down In New Orleans All Day on Monday with Our EP, Allen Toussaint, and Live Magnolia Sisters, January 27, 2025

Good morning, musicologists! Technically speaking, Mardi Gras season started on January 6 (twelfth night) and the party goes all the way to March 4, which is Mardi Gras Day! So, today we start the musical celebration with an EP we haven’t aired for a while!

Here’s your musical lineup!

10:00 a.m. Down in New Orleans: Various Artists

We’ve got a great playlist here that features not only authentic New Orleans musical genres (a little jazz, cajun/zydeco, etc) but also features artists born and sometimes raised there, including BeauSoleil, Clifton Chenier, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco, Tony Joe White, Lucinda Williams, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Irma Thomas (the Soul Queen of New Orleans), The Boogaloo Swamis, The Neville Brothers, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Queen Ida & The Bon Temps Zydeco Band, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Daywalkers and more!

4:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Allen Toussaint

Toussaint was a musician, songwriter, arranger and producer who was one of the most influential figures in New Orleans R & B from the 1950’s to the end of the century. Today, he’s in our spotlight.

8:00 p.m. The Magnolia Sisters Live at The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, The Fairgrounds Race Course, New Orleans, LA, July 27, 2021

This is a real treat: An all-woman band from southwest Louisiana that plays many styles of Cajun French music. It’s essentially five women, unrelated by birth, who simply share the love of Cajun music. The band was founded by Ann Savoy (who also made an album with Linda Ronstadt; they called themselves The ZoZo Sisters) and Jane Vidrine back in 1995.

Today is a wondrous day here in The Mermaid Lounge and we do hope you’ll join us for this great New Orleans experience! Remember, before, in between and after we give you our big, wide Open Stream. The button is below!

Down in New Orleans!

On Wednesday, We Keep It Simple With a Big, Wide Open Stream Day! January 15, 2025.

Good morning, music lovers. It’s a day to appreciate our Open Stream as we are going to leave it at that all day and night, right up until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow! Enjoy!

Remember, there’s never any advertising. We’re completely free. And there are no DJ’s to talk through your songs. The button is below.

OPEN STREAM DAY!

On Thursday We Celebrate ‘The Founders’, Then The Band ‘In the Spotlight,’ and Live Dr. John, December 19, 2024

Good morning, music lovers! We are once again headed for the weekend! We’re starting the day with a tribute to the founders who pioneered rock and roll, then it’s The Band and live Dr. John.

Here’s your Thursday music:

9:00 a.m. The Founders: Various Artists

We start off with music from Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Big Mama Thornton, Big Joe Turner, Hank Williams, Bill Haley & His Comets, Ray Charles, The Drifters, Roy Orbison, Robert Johnson, Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of The Band

They started out as Bob Dylan’s back-up band and he referred to him as “The Band.” The name stuck, and they proceeded to become one of the greates and most influential music acts in popular music. A definite Mermaid Lounge favorite.

8:00 p.m. Dr. John Live at Ultrasonic Studios, Hempstead, NY, November 6, 1973

From Wikipedia, which says it best: Active as a session musician from the late 1950s until his death, he gained a following in the late 1960s after the release of his album Gris-Gris (1968) and his appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music (1970). He typically performed a lively, theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes, and voodoo ceremonies. Rebennack recorded thirty studio albums and nine live albums, as well as contributing to thousands of other musicians’ recordings. In 1973, he achieved a top-10 hit single with “Right Place, Wrong Time“. We simply love Dr. John here in The Mermaid Lounge.

We get closer to the weekend today and I get closer to my vacation, when we’ll be introducing some new music and playlists to our ever-growing offering. In the meantime, the button is below.

The Button.