Artist Spotlight: Renée Reed – Dream-Fi Folk from the Cajun Prairies
April 24th at Old City Hall – A Night of Haunting Beauty
When Renée Reed takes the stage at Old City Hall on April 24th, she won’t just be performing songs—she’ll be conjuring an entire world. Born and raised in the heart of southwest Louisiana, Reed’s music is a hypnotic blend of Cajun tradition, ’60s French pop, and ghostly folk, delivered with the warmth of a porchside jam and the mystery of a half-remembered dream.
Roots Run Deep: A Musical Upbringing
Reed didn’t just grow up around Cajun music—she was steeped in it.
Her grandfather, Harry Trahan, was an accordion legend.
Her parents, Lisa Trahan and Mitch Reed, ran a Cajun music shop and hosted jam sessions where Creole icons were regulars.
Her great uncle, folklorist Revon Reed, helped preserve the Courir de Mardi Gras—a rural Cajun tradition where costumes resemble medieval French revelry (and the inspiration for her debut single’s cover art).
Yet her influences stretch far beyond Louisiana:
The Beatles, Kate Bush, and Serge Gainsbourg live alongside Cajun waltzes in her songs.
She studied Traditional Music and French at the University of Louisiana, archiving folk songs by day and writing her own by night.
Early experiments with a Tascam cassette four-track led to her self-titled debut album—a collection of songs about ghosts, love, and ancestral echoes.
Why You’ll Be Spellbound
Critics have called her music:
"An effortless union of Cajun folk and lost ’60s French pop" – Gorilla vs. Bear
"Haunted daydreams set to melody" – The Wild Honey Pie
Fans of Jessica Pratt, Mazzy Star, or Cate Le Bon—take note.
Live, Reed’s performances are intimate and transportive, blending:
Cajun French lyrics
Spectral folk-gaze guitar, like a vinyl crackle given voice.
Songs about seeing ghosts (literally and metaphorically).
Don’t miss: "Où est la fée?" (a yé-yé-infused reverie) and "I Saw a Ghost" (a haunting ode to inherited memories).
With Special Guest: Fust’s Gritty Americana
North Carolina’s Fust (of Big Ugly fame) headlines the night with their "small-town poetry" (Mojo) and loose, loud guitar rock. Together, they promise a show that’s equal parts honky-tonk and dreamscape.
🎟️ Free for members / $10 tickets HERE
Why This Show Matters
This isn’t just a concert—it’s a celebration of living traditions. Reed and Fust both reimagine regional sounds without losing their soul, proving that the best music honors where it’s from while pushing forward.
Come early, listen close, and leave humming.