Ragin Cajun

Doug Kershaw's musical career as a fiddler, songwriter, and singer has spanned over seventy years. Born on a houseboat tied to a cypress tree in the swamps of Southwest Louisiana, his family followed the fishing up and down the Mermantau River. Alligators and snakes lurked beneath the waters. Alcoholism and violence lurked above. The fais do-dos, those popular houseboat dances, were the only escape from a harsh way of life. Until the Kershaws were forced to move into town following a family tragedy, Kershaw spoke only Cajun-French. He got his first pair of shoes when he was eight years old, the same year he began supporting his mother by playing fiddle and shining shoes. Throughout his career, he has mastered 28 instruments. Because of his signature style of music-making and entertaining, Kershaw is considered by many to be a consummate performer and storyteller. His is a classic American story of how one young man rose from poverty in the swamps to the stage at Carnegie Hall.