LE RUE

Saturday 27th April

FREE ENTRY

Open 12pm // Live music from 8:30pm

LeRue has now reformed after 25 years! They are back and ready to serve up some red hot cajun styled DANCE music for the public once again.
After an audition at a small nightclub, a young American fiddle player from New Mexico was asked to become the first fiddler with (Grammy winner and legendary) “Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band” from Lake Charles, Louisiana. After the first gig with the band (at the Monterey Jazz Festival ) he was given the opportunity to spend years learning and playing the music of the South with Queen Ida and her band along with younger brother Al “Rapone” Lewis, and occasionally playing double fiddle with the Grammy winner (and also legendary) musician from Lafayette, LA, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and many other veteran musicians. The young fiddler, Pete Allen, was given the stage name “Pierre LeRue” and was learning the music of Louisiana and the South, from the roots up.
After a few years, Pierre decided to make a go of his own style of fiddling and singing and the band “LeRue” was formed around 1984, in the San Francisco Bay Area of CA and soon they were travelling the states, Canada and Europe.
In the hands of Pierre, however, the traditional sounds of the South were served up as a furious, modern blend of Americana, with surprises waiting around every corner. Pierre’s sound is heavily seasoned with Cajun, Zydeco, Blues, Country and Bluegrass.
LeRue recorded their first album in Bangor, Wales at a live show, the music was recorded by the BBC Mobile recording studio and was released by a Yorkshire based record label that specialized in Americana and Blues called “UnAmerican Activities”. LeRue went on to tour and record for the next 15 years.

LeRue have been seen and heard at:

Glastonbury Festival

Cambridge Folk Festival

Winnipeg Folk Festival

Bury Cajun and Zydeco Festival

Womad Festival

The Venue London

The Meanfiddler London

The Melkveg Amsterdam

Rotterdam Festival

and hundreds of other venues and festivals throughout the US, Europe and the UK!

Pierre – Fiddle and vocals

Tony Weatherall – Accordion
Tony was a pioneer of the cajun accordion in the early days of the British Cajun scene. Helped form “The Crayfish 5” in the ’80’s, playing mostly around London. Then Tony went on to tour the UK with “The Companions of the Rosy Hours” in the early ’90’s, from there it was the “LeRue” acoustic offshoot “Swamprat” and then the “LeRue” band ’til the mid ’90’s. Alongside that, the old Crayfish 5 band morphed into “The Hackney Ramblers” and then it was all at sea with the venerable English Folk group “The Boat Band”!

Richard Studholme – Guitar
Richard played Guitar and Bass in LeRue during the 90s, and is a songwriter, producer, guitarist and bass player, coming primarily from a blues and r&b background. He has gigged and recorded with Arthur Brown, Eric Bibb, Hubert Sumlin, Carey Bell, George “Mojo” Buford, Larry Johnson, Sam and Dave, Rockin Sidney, Josh Phillips, David Bronze, Sam Tanner and John Illesley, among many others, Richard is a highly respected veteran of the UK and European Blues scene!

Toby Allen – Bass, Fiddle
Toby is a musician of a very high caliber. Playing bass and guitar he has played with the “Allen Family” (Pierre’s family band) for 12 years , “Lapis Lazuli” a jazz fusion/progressive Rock outfit based in Canterbury, UK, “The ParksideSwing Band” UK

Bruce Allen – Drums
Bruce is a highly skilled and respected musician and his versatility is showcased with the “Gumboots Reggae Band”, “The Roger Hubbard Blues band”, “Intensified” a UK Ska band , “Mampama” Highlife band. We are delighted to have Bruce playing in LeRue and will no doubt keep you all on the floor wearing out your best dancing shoes.

If your ears and feet are up to it, come on out to a big time dance concert fueled by the hottest band in the land, LERUE!