WIELDING THE TORCH OF A VERITABLE CREOLE DYNASTY, BEING BORN INTO ONE OF THE FIRST… Creole families to settle in St. Landry Parish, Marcella René Simien planted the seeds of her South Louisiana heritage deep into the bluffs of Memphis, TN—no small victory for a young woman just now rounding out her mid-20’s. Simien is a natural in the truest sense.

With each honeyed undertone, every saintly holler, with each twinkle of the keys, and every pump of the squeezebox, she reinvents the mold and soldiers against boundaries, yet she never fails to respect tradition.

Her music is a dueling hybrid of classic Memphis soul and the freewheeling swagger of New Orleans funk woven together with the sighing laughter of her ancestors: that Creole accordion. Assembling her group from the cream of the crop of Memphis musicians, Simien’s soulful voice smolders like a night star, fondly reminding us of a mysterious past while at once exciting us with the romance of an uncertain future.