David Greely

Influenced By

Baton Rouge native David Greely grew up a long way from the Cajun region of his roots. Having no immediate contact with the culture's traditional music, he instead played his fiddle in pursuit of other types of music that included gospel, country, and bluegrass. In 1985, however, he turned his... Read More

Baton Rouge native David Greely grew up a long way from the Cajun region of his roots. Having no immediate contact with the culture's traditional music, he instead played his fiddle in pursuit of other types of music that included gospel, country, and bluegrass. In 1985, however, he turned his attention to his ancestors' Cajun melodies, picking them up from recorded versions before learning even more from people who lived around Mamou, LA. A 1992 grant from Louisiana Folklife allowed the aspiring Cajun fiddler to learn from one of the genre's best, Dewey Balfa. The apprenticeship exposed Greely not only to the songs of the Cajun people, but also to more information about their culture. In 1988, he helped form the Mamou Playboys with Steve Riley, another of Balfa's students. Greely records with the Mamou Playboys, as well as on his own. He put out an album, La Taille des Ronces, in 1991. ~ Linda Seida, Rovi