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Wayne Toups may be an icon in Cajun music, but things weren’t always so easy. Long before he toured the world, performing with artists ranging from Ray Charles and Elvin Bishop to Alan Jackson and Sammy Kershaw, the musician ran afoul of his traditional brethren who didn’t like the rock and other influences he injected into his “zydecajun” style.

“They thought I was turning my back on what I was raised on, and I wasn’t,” Toups said. “I was just trying to create a progressive style going into the future. The music needed to advance, and I tried to do it in a very slow and positve way. I wanted my music to go somewhere, and I wanted the tradition to have a solid foundation leading into the future.”

Since then, most Cajun music fans have come around to Toups’ way of thinking, and he’s even dipped back into his heritage to record a few traditional records. So just what does Toups’ music sound like? He describes it as “a musical gumbo of Southern rock and rhythm and blues with a real tough Cajun accent.”

While that’s mostly what Toups will play at festival appearances like the one today at the Riverside Crawfish Fest, he still has a real affection for the music he grew up with.

“I’m still capable of playing those nice little waltzes and two-steps,” he said. “We have a lot of fun. That’s the main thing. We like to have fun, and the musicianship is really good.”

It’s been a few years since Toups has made a stop in Monroe, but he says he always enjoys his visits.

“We have a lot of fans from the Monroe area,” he said. “It will be a very high party atmosphere, and we’re going to try our best to entertain them the best way we can.”

The Riverside Crawfish Fest continues Saturday with a performance by country singer T. Graham Brown.

What: Riverside Crawfish Fest, featuring Wayne Toups
When: 5 p.m.-midnight Friday
Where: Monroe Civic Center, 401 Lea Joyner Expressway, Monroe
Cost: $8

Source: newsstar