There’s plenty of southern culture on tap for the west coast with a strong Louisiana kick of sights, smells and sounds. All of that comes together this week at the Gator By The Bay festival.
The Bayou Brothers are a local band who have been proudly playing at the annual event since its inception over two decades ago.
“You can not be sad when you're listening to zydeco music. It makes you move, it makes you want to dance,” said the band’s lead singer Sista Judy. “That's why I fell in love with the music.”
That regional sound has some distinct features that set it apart from other genres.
“A zydeco band is not a zydeco band unless you have a rubboard and an accordion. So these are the unique features,” Judy said. “We also have the drummer, and the bass player and the guitar player.”
As for the flavor of the festival, local businesses like The Gumbo Pot will be serving up their Louisiana specialties.
“You can eat this and cook it at home and have a good meal, but man when you eat this Creole-Cajun food and you have the music — that's what New Orleans is all about,” said chef and owner Richard Taylor.
The main food attraction is 10,000 pounds of crawfish that’s being trucked in from Louisiana for the festival.
Taylor was cooking his signature three dishes of gumbo, jambalaya and red beans ahead of the event.
“I have two parent sauces: creole red sauce — mother sauce, and then a brown sauce — father sauce. And from these sauces I create the whole menu,” he said.
All the dishes were made with an assortment of meats, seafood and vegetables. His offerings tie him back to his heritage.
“My family's from New Orleans. My grandmothers from a small town going north towards Baton Rouge, it's called Bayou Goula,” Taylor said. “It's just a little small town and then they migrated to Los Angeles.”
Taking place at Spanish Landing Park, across from San Diego International Airport, the stage is set for the four-day festival, said event producer Peter Oliver.
He said there’s a new Mardi Gras main performance stage.
“It used to be all converted in a big tent, and we decided to open it up because the type of music we're going to have at this stage really warrants it,” Oliver said.
Now in its 21st year the festival is still growing and changing. Oliver said they're expecting over 15,000 attendees for 2024's rendition.
“This is a bump up from what we started and have been doing for the last 10 or 15 years,” he said.
There will be more than 100 musical acts across seven stages, including award-winning blues, Cajun and zydeco artists, as well as musicians of other genres.
Many of the bands will be local, but others are coming from the South. So like the food, it's one big melting pot of melodies.
“For musicians we play our gigs and then go home, but here we get together — it's kind of like a big party,” Judy said.
With plenty of colorful fun, the festival is about as close as you can get to Louisiana culture outside of the state itself.
“You get excited! After you've walked around for a little bit you say ‘Dang, I want to get something to eat, I want to dance a little bit! I want to shake it up, I want to have fun, I want to cause a commotion,’” Oliver said.
This year’s Gator By The Bay Festival runs from Thursday, May 9 through Sunday, May 12. Kids under 18 get in for free with a paying adult.
Oliver said all who come will experience a sense of “joie de vivre” — the joy of life.
“That's what we do; we offer everybody the opportunity to cause a commotion,” he said.
Tickets can be purchased at gatorbythebay.com.
