Lafayette, Louisiana-based sextet BeauSoleil (often billed as BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet) take their name from Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil, a key figure in the resistance movement against the forced Expulsion of the Acadians from eastern Canada, who eventually led the first group of 193 Acadian exiles to southern Louisiana.
With a line-up of brothers Michael (fiddle, vocals) and David Doucet (guitar, vocals), Jimmy Breaux (accordion), Billy Ware (percussion), Tommy Alesi (percussion), and Mitchell Reed (bass, fiddle) the band founded in 1975 have gone on to become one of the most well-known purveyors of traditional Creole and Cajun folk tunes, incorporating elements from rock, jazz, blues, calypso, and other genres in reworkings of traditional tunes and original material.
Albums:
1976 La Nuit (French release)
1977 The Spirit of Cajun Music (Swallow)
1984 Michael Doucet with BeauSoleil (Arhoolie) Parlez-Nous a Boire (Arhoolie)
1986 Allons a Lafayette (Arhoolie) with Canray Fontenot Belizaire the Cajun [ Soundtrack] (Arhoolie)
1987 Bayou Boogie (Rounder)
1988 Hot Chili Mama (Arhoolie)
1989 Bayou Cadillac (Rounder) Zydeco Gris Gris (Swallow) Live from the Left Coast (Rounder)
1991 Cajun Conja (Rhino) Déjá Vu (Swallow)
1993 La Danse de la Vie (Forward)