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Thursday, January 27, 2011

LET “LES BON TEMPS ROULER” WITH THE ZYDECO CHACHAS @ CENTENARY STAGE MARDI GRAS CONCERT!

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Zydeco à Go-Go: Nathan and the Cha-Chas
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 5,  at 8 PM
WHERE: David and Carol Lackland Center on the Centenary College campus in Hackettstown
TICKETS: $22.50 in advance, and $25 the day of performance. Seniors and students are $20 in advance and $22.50 the day of performance. Tickets may  be purchased through the CSC Box Office at 908.979.0900, online at
www.centenarystageco.org, or in person at the David and Carol Lackland Center (box office hours 1-5 PM, Monday through Friday, and 2 hours prior to each performance).

Nathan Williams plays zydeco,  the fast and furious accordion-driven dance music of the Creole people of South Louisiana, a relatively modern style that emerged after the Second World War. With its trademark rubboard percussion, electric guitars and  R&B influences, zydeco is distinct from the fiddle-driven music of neighboring Cajuns.

The core of zydeco is the sound of the accordion and the “chankety-chank” of the rubboard, or “frattoir.”  Zydeco is known as one of the most expressive sounds in roots music.  In the “Cha Chas”  band, William’s down-home parables are delivered  with musical turns and a distinctive Caribbean lilt that reaches back to the very beginnings of Creole culture in Louisiana.
Zydeco is heralded as an uplifting  music that remains connected to its place in history; a down-the-bayou, creative combination of instrumentation which combines to create the irresistible, pulsating energy of pure Louisiana dance music.
The music of Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas is the expression of a remarkable South Louisiana family. Dennis Paul Williams (Nathan’s brother) brings his jazz-influenced  guitar chops to the band. Keyboardist Nathan Williams Jr. is enrolled in the music program at the University of South Louisiana, while he leads his own band in the Lafayette area. Rubboard player Mark Williams is a cousin who has been with the band since its inception. Manager Sid El Sid O Williams, the eldest Williams brother, hones his skills with the  accordion. Bassist Paul Newman and drummer Herman 'Rat' Brown, (who held the drum chair with Buckwheat Zydeco for many years) round out the Cha Chas with an exceptional rhythm section.

Concerts at the Centenary Stage Company  are made possible in part through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts and the following local businesses: Heath Village Retirement Community (the CSC 2011 Platinum sponsor),  Panther Valley Pharmacy, Skylands Community Bank,  and Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, as well as individual CSC members and sponsors.