LAFAYETTE, La. — In its 52nd year and bigger than ever, Festivals Acadiens et Créoles is proud to announce its 2026 lineup. The festival runs from October 8-11, 2026.
Legendary and traditional heavy hitters like Jeffery Broussard and the Creole Cowboys, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, and Wayne Toups (closing out the festival Sunday evening) take to the stage while newer bands like Rusty Metoyer & the Zydeco Crush and The Holiday Playgirls come bearing tradition with invigorated, fresh energy, according to event organizers.
This year’s festival relaunches its original stage, Scène '76, spurred by its notable partnership with the Smithsonian. This stage, which will be set up near Girard Park’s pond, is a throwback to the festival’s first stage when they relocated from Blackham Coliseum to Girard Park in 1976.
The lineup for Scène ‘76 will revolve around South Louisiana’s musical traditions and their interplay with the other musical traditions of America – featuring collaborations between regional musicians and Acadiana’s frequent musical playmates like Haitian-American cellist Leyla McCalla and Indigenous fiddle ace Nokosee Fields.
The festival was chosen this year by the Smithsonian Institution as one of only 34 folklife events in the US to join their “Festival of Festivals,” a nationwide initiative to highlight festivals that are vital spaces for cultural exchange, civic engagement, and dialogue. This major collaboration is reflected in this year’s festival theme – Revolution and Evolution: Celebrating 250 Years of Cultural Fusion on the Bayou.
Festival lineup regular Louis Michot of Lost Bayou Ramblers says he feels honored to be a part of the celebration at Scène ‘76. Michot will be one of many gracing the new stage, paying homage to how other kinds of music have commingled with South Louisiana’s Creole and Cajun music traditions over the years – and continue to do so today.
“As musicians and students of tradition, we don’t necessarily thrive in isolation,” says Michot. “It’s because we’re part of this larger conversation with other traditions and forms of music that we’re able to understand our own traditions more deeply.”
See the full 2026 Festivals Acadiens et Créoles below:
Event Details
Dates: October 8-11, 2026
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana (Girard Park + adjacent locations)
Admission: Free and open to the public
More information: https://festivalsacadiens.com/
