The GRAMMY-winning fiddler, songwriter, and New Orleans native talks about taking his leap.
A life in music requires passion, creativity, dedication - and for many creators, their trajectory can be traced back to a defining moment that changed everything: the moment they took the leap.
Louisiana native Louis Michot is the fiddler, songwriter, and lead vocalist for the GRAMMY award winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. With more than 20 albums under his belt - and a passion for Louisiana French, local folklore, and environmental sustainability - Louis' music career both honors and pushes the boundaries of the Louisiana French music traditions.
Watch as Louis performs his track Les Beaux Jours ( The Good Days ) through the all-new PreSonus Quantum ES 2 audio interface, and shares his story about growing up with Cajun music, his role as a cultural ambassador, and taking the leap with his first solo album.
Louis Michot might be best known as the fiddle player and lead-singer of the Lost Bayou Ramblers - but what truly fuels his career as a musician is Louisiana French, local folklore, and sustainability in the fastest disappearing landmass in the world: Louisiana is beautiful and complex, both geographically and culturally, Louis says. The diversity of cultures that are intertwined here have given birth to some of the most popular music in the world, and the ever-changing landscape inspires people to keep creating new expressions: from Zydeco to Mardi Gras Indians, Cajun to country, and everything in between.
Growing up surrounded by Cajun music seemed normal to Louis. I thought every kid had an older generation around that played accordion and fiddle music and sang in French. But when I started playing guitar at 12 years old and learned all the Rock'nRoll and Blues standards, I realized that the Louisiana French music my family plays was very different from popular music.
Recognizing his unique cultural inheritance, Louis decided to get out into the world and learn French and the fiddle for himself. I traveled and hitchhiked throughout South Louisiana and Eastern Canada, learning the language with every French speaker I could meet, and honing my skills on the fiddle by playing on the streets.
Inspired by his experiences at home and abroad, Louis started playing standup bass with the family band before taking the leap and founding the GRAMMY-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers with his brother, Andre. After a decade of pushing the traditional music to the edge, we started melding the Cajun music we grew up with, and the Rock'n'Roll we learned to love, and playing Louisiana French music in a way that truly inspired us.
23 years and two GRAMMYs later, Louis decided it was time for another leap of faith, and began work on his first solo album. When I finally decided to dedicate myself to releasing a solo album, it was because I needed to get this music out of my head and my heart, and wanted to explore the scary freedom of starting with an empty canvas and making something brand new and completely unique to me.
Hot on the heels of his hurricane relief work, Louis set up shop in a dry-docked houseboat affectionately named Sister Ray, and started tracking the songs that would go on to become his first solo album, R ve du Troubadour (The Troubadour's Dream). For Louis, the personal and artistic significance of this effort cannot be overstated: I felt like I was fulfilling a part of myself that was in my blood, part of my heritage, and I want others who feel that same yearning to be able to follow that feeling and keep their culture alive, whatever that means to them.
I definitely never set out to represent anything other than myself, but I think my passion for the music and language have led me to be a representative for the importance of cultural depth in Louisiana. I'm continuing tradition within the music and the family, and doing my part to preserve and grow these cultural expressions of Cajun and Creole music.
PreSonus products used: PreSonus Quantum ES 2 USB-C Audio Interface.
Meet the all-new family of Quantum USB-C Recording Audio Interfaces, and get in-depth information about the entire product line here.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
The GRAMMY-winning fiddler, songwriter, and New Orleans native talks about taking his leap.
