A concert in the park: Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole play in Fallon on Saturday.
Courtesy: Churchill Arts Council
Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole play Saturday night at Oats Park’s Centennial Stage, marking the first concert under the stars since 2019.
This free performance, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is presented in cooperation with the mayor, the city and Fallon City Council.
Valerie Serpa, executive director of the Churchill Arts Council, said music lovers may either bring chairs or blankets to sit on. She said many people bring their own food and beverage. Top Gun Burgers will sell food, and Serpa said other vendors will sell beverages.
One of the brightest young talents to emerge in Cajun, Creole and Zydeco (Louisiana French) music over the last decade, Cedric Watson is a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist and songwriter with seemingly unlimited potential.
With his band, Bijou Creole, he resurrects the ancient sounds of the French and Spanish contra dance and bourré alongside the spiritual rhythms of the Congo tribes of West Africa, who were sold as slaves in the Caribbean and Louisiana by the French and Spanish.
With an apparently bottomless repertoire of songs at his fingertips, Cedric plays everything from forgotten Creole melodies and obscure Dennis McGee reels to more modern Cajun and Zydeco songs, even occasionally throwing in a bluegrass fiddle tune or an old string band number.
Serpa said a post-performance Q & A with the artists will be conducted. The discussion will focus on “Exploring Musical Tradition and Innovation.”
Serpa said the ChArts Store, which has local artwork and books for purchase, and the two galleries will open to the public. The E.L. Wiegand Gallery presents 3X: Painting and Sculpture by Michael Sarich, and the Kirk Robertson Gallery is hosting the Lahontan Valley Fine Arts Invitational.
Sarich, an associate professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, has exhibited his works in many national and international exhibitions. His focus was on drawing, painting and sculpture. Sarich also studied at the College of Salzburg (Austria).
