As is our custom we loaded up the Econoline and made our way out to Lafayette, Louisiana this weekend for the big Festival International party in Acadiana.

It’s the finest music festival in the state.

The best concert we saw in 2015 was staged at Festival. Dakhabrakha, a group of drummers, accordionists and singers from the Ukraine leveled Lafayette Parish leaving a stunned crowd writhing on the pavement in front of the stage.

It was a real eye-opener.

Unfortunately that experience was not duplicated this year. We saw some great bands but none was on the level of the Ukrainians.

You could go just for the food, wear earplugs, and not even listen to a single group and have the time of your life as the organizers curate a who’s who of Cajun cooking to keep the crowd fed.

We gorged on pistolettes, feasted on po boys and took down an array of meat pies, and never even scratched the surface. Most patrons were walking around with bread bowls brimming with what amounted to spinach queso. It held little appeal to our group but it was easily the most popular dish at the event.

The best line of the day went to a barkeep we were chatting with in a downtown drinkery. When we walked in, the bar was packed with smokers and we mentioned that LaToya Cantrell (the California transplant who infamously got tobacco banned in New Orleans) would not be happy. “Fuck LaToya Cantrell!” was her response followed quickly by a “Who’s LaToya Cantrell?”

It brought the room down.

Here are a few images we captured at the fete:

If you’d like more pictures of our great state check out RL Reeves Jr

Photo gallery of Festival International 2015

Even at festivals some people are pensive.