Eighty years ago folklorists John and Alan Lomax visited South Louisiana to record  Cajun and Creole songs to be added to the Library of Congress Archive of American  Folk Song (now the Archive of Folk Culture). It was the first time Cajun and Creole  songs were captured on tape for archival purposes.

 In 1964, Dewey Balfa, Gladdie Thibodeaux and Louis "Vinesse" Lejeune were invited to  perform at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island - the first Cajun musicians ever  accorded that honor. Balfa didn't know how the South Louisiana music would be  received and was surprised that audience members sat and listened, as opposed to  dancing like they did back home.

 "He (Balfa) noticed how people were sitting down and listening to the music and giving  it a certain amount of respect," said Dewey Balfa's daughter, Christine Balfa.

 At the end of Dewey Balfa's set, the audience responded with a standing ovation.

 Buoyed by Lomax and inspired by Newport, Balfa was determined to ignite that same  respect and adoration in his home state. He came back to Louisiana with a purpose. 

 "His goal was to bring home the echo of that Newport applause back to Louisiana," said  Barry Jean Ancelet, a folklorist and scholar who is now head of the University of  Louisiana at Lafayette's Department of Modern Language.

 The result was "A Tribute to Cajun Music" on March 26, 1974, in Lafayette's Blackham  Coliseum, a culturally significant event that would evolve into today's Festivals  Acadiens et Créoles, a culturally rich, multi-layered festival that celebrates its 40th  anniversary this year. In addition, 2014 also honors the 80th anniversary of the Lomax  Louisiana recordings and Dewey Balfa's performance at Newport 50 years ago.

 "You can draw a straight line back to Lomax," said current Festivals Acadiens Director  Pat Mould.

 "Both that concert and the Newport concert were influenced by the Lomax recordings  years before," Ancelet said.

 Click here to for the complete history of the 40th Anniversary of Festival  Acadiens et Creoles featuring archival images courtesy of Philip Gould. You  can also subscribe to our blog for the latest feature stories, events and more.