15

SATURDAY

For many young African-Americans of Creole descent, zydeco is an even more important cultural movement than hiphop. Take Andre Thierry, a Northern California-bred accordionist/vocalist who grew up attending zydeco shows hosted at his church by his Louisiana-transplant grandparents. There, amid the smell of red beans and rice, his mother gave dance lessons and the late Clifton Chenier once grabbed him by the arm and proclaimed that he would someday play music. Sure enough, by age 12, Thierry was in his first band. He has since become a master at pumping out fast, funky rhythms on an instrument not usually associated with earthy syncopation. A versatile student of the music, Thierry can’t be lumped into zydeco’s old-school R&B-influenced camp or its nouveau, rap-inspired one: He and his band, Zydeco Magic, lay down both soulful, traditional slow-dancers and bottom-end-booming kinetic groovers. See for yourself at 7 p.m. at Taliano’s, 7001 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park. $10. (301) 270-5515. (Steve Kiviat)