Musicians from as far as Japan have come to Opelousas to learn from zydeco accordion wizard Jeffery Broussard. But Broussard was in for a surprise when renowned Celtic musician Tony Davoren, who also lives in St. Landry Parish, brought him to New Orleans to play on a movie soundtrack.
Broussard can usually play a song within minutes of hearing it, but after fighting with the Irish tune for a couple of hours, the squeezebox master said the song “clicked after I played it backward.”
Broussard thought he was done, but was informed he had to sign papers.
“I signed the papers and the lady said, ‘Now, you’re going to be in the movie,’” said Broussard, 58. “I said, ‘I’m not an actor,’ and she said, ‘You are now.’"
“It just went from there," Broussard said. "What a great experience.”
Broussard is enjoying his cameo as an accordionist in “Sinners,” a vampire thriller starring Michael B. Jordan. According to a May 4 report in Variety, the hit movie grossed $236.7 million worldwide.
The movie debuted April 18 and spent two weeks as the top-ranked movie at the U.S. box office.
Signing autographs and posing for pictures
Broussard is also on the movie’s soundtrack, along with blues and folk icons Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush and Rhiannon Giddens. Back home in St. Landry Parish, he is signing autographs and posing for pics when he fills up at the gas station. He admits his acting debut turned into a grueling day.
“I’ve been up all night long playing music and traveling to the next show,” said Broussard. “But to stand in one place at 7 in the afternoon to 7 next morning, I had never done that.
“It got to the point to where I was dozing off. A couple of guys next to me were like, ‘C’mon bro, you got this.’ I was going to sleep, but they kept inspiring me, kept pushing me. I fought it, and I made it.
“I want to thank everybody for all the congratulations I’ve been getting. But it’s not about me. The glory goes to God.”
The movie cameo adds to Broussard’s legacy as a member of one of the founding families of zydeco and Creole music. A musician since the age of 8, Broussard follows in the footsteps of his father’s highly influential band, Delton Broussard and the Lawtell Playboys.
Jeffery created his own legend in the 1980s and ‘90s as the leader of Zydeco Force, which put a contemporary spin on traditional zydeco. He has since returned to his traditional roots with his Creole Cowboys band.
“Bayou Moonlight,” Broussard’s collaboration with the Nighttime Syndicate, a brass band from New Orleans, will be released May 23 on Fairground Records.
Despite his long and growing résumé, Jeffery feels neglected by his hometown. He has watched younger musicians, doing Zydeco Force-inspired songs, get gigs while his phone rarely rings.
Like the Sam Cooke classic, he’s hoping “A Change Gonna Come.”
“It hurts and it’s a shame," he said. "They forget who I am, but every band they hire is playing the same music I played. I’m not dead. Why bypass me like that? But through all that, God had a ram in the bush. That was Michael B. Jordan.”
Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.