LAFAYETTE, LA – Despite being consigned to all but a distant memory, Festival International lives on in all of our hearts. And although the frivolity may be over, we take a look at some of the finest moments that this year had to offer.
Last night was a particularly bright spot, as Cedryl Ballou and the Zydeco Trendsetters hit the Scene Chevron Heritage Stage. Their performance was typically energetic, and got the crowd so riled up that a wall of death mosh pit was formed.
The courthouse area was, in a matter of minutes, transformed from a peaceful, pleasant atmosphere to something straight out of an open-air Lamb of God gig. Concert attendee Jorge Martin said that it was like nothing he’d ever seen before.
“It got real heavy real quick”, he remarked, “A huge gap started to open up in the crowd and I was like uh-oh, I know where this is going. I’d seen it before in my younger days. And before you knew it you had topless frat bros and hipsters and everyone in between bouncing off of each other like bumper cars. You had food and drink-based projectiles flying through the air. It was crazy, it was a mess.”
But those in the wall of death defended it, claiming that it was just a bit of harmless fun brought on by their love of zydeco.
“I was right in it and it was freakin’ amazing”, said attendee Laverne Milligan, “As soon as they started playing ‘Country Roads’ it just all set off. Everyone was in the mood. The sound of that accordion was enough to just get everyone pumped. We all just started head-banging and moshing and one thing led to another, and before you know it that wall of death appeared and it was like OH HELL YEAH! That’s how I festival!”
Officials say that over 70 crawfish bowls, 40 po-boys and 35 gallons of Pabst Blue Ribbon were spoiled in the chaos.