Arts & Theater

Bryant Park Picnic Performance: Carnegie Hall Citywide: Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas

When

Fri, Jul 17 · 7:00 PM

Where

Bryant ParkBryant Park Lawn (in Bryant Park), Manhattan · Map ↗Midtown

Price

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Experience zydeco, the fast and furious, accordion-driven Creole dance music of South Louisiana. With its trademark rubboard percussion, electric guitars, and R&B influences, this is an exciting and modern roots music that’s nearly impossible to resist—and from festival stages to Louisianan dance halls, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas has been one of the most celebrated zydeco bands of the past 40 years. Representing the crème de la crème of the vibrant Black Creole dance music native to Southwest Louisiana, Nathan and The Zydeco Cha Chas have delivered the rollicking, accordion-driven sounds of zydeco to audiences around the world for almost 40 years. Led by accordionist Nathan Williams, arguably zydeco accordion’s foremost living practitioner, the group is known for its classic style infused with reggae, R&B, and rock—a winning formula for a nonstop party both on and off the dance floor. Born in 1963 in St. Martinville, Louisiana, Nathan Williams was one of 10 siblings raised by a French Creole-speaking grandmother, a widowed mother, and a neighborhood full of musical family. Williams’s accolades include induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Zydeco Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. After 25 years and eight recordings with Rounder, in 2013 Nathan and his band recorded A New Road on Cha Cha Records, which Williams founded with his sons Naylon and Nathan Jr. (of Lil’ Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timers). The band’s latest record, Lucky Man , was nominated for a 2023 Grammy for Best Regional Roots Album. “If you don’t get up and shake a leg to this record,” Williams jokes, “call the undertaker.” Carnegie Hall is honored to partner with local community organizations to present free concerts that are sensational celebrations of sounds from across the country and around the globe. At a Carnegie Hall Citywide concert, you can revisit your favorite music or try something new, stay in your home borough or journey farther afield. Whatever you choose, you’ll experience everything that makes New York City so vibrant. Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America is a free outdoor festival that welcomes all New Yorkers to experience the city’s vibrant arts and culture. The series provides a platform for extraordinary artists and serves as a vital outdoor venue for a wide array of New York’s cultural institutions.