For Immediate Release:

OCEAN SPRINGS — Grand Mag Music, in association with The Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center,, present a new and unique live music series coming to South Mississippi this month.

“Jazz Fest in OS” will feature artists that have been a part of the greatest music festival in the world over the past two decades that will now be showcased in Ocean Springs.

The five part series will kick off with Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band at The Mary C. on Sun., Sept 28th. Tickets are already on sale for each show at www.grandmagmusic.com 

Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

Carrier and his talented group have played 25 straight years at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and they have toured the world for the past 30 years also appearing at The Chicago Blues Fest. Summerfest in Milwaukee, Memphis in May and they have headlined many festivals in Europe over the years including the Utrecht Blues Festival in Amsterdam.

Carrier was among the musicians recently featured on the CBS News program “60 Minutes” in a segment on Cajun and Zydeco music. 

“We’re really looking forward to getting over there and starting this great series off,” Carrier said, from his home in Lafayette, La. “We’re fortunate to be a part of Jazz Fest every year, and we look forward to sharing our love of zydeco over to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”

Considered one of the best Zydeco Bands of all time, in 2010 Chubby won a Grammy award for Best Zydeco or Cajun album of the year and in 2011 he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Carrier has played with Santana, B.B. King, Travis Tritt and Buddy Guy and has shared the stage with many others like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Taj Mahal, Morris Day and the Time, Confunkshun and “Weird” Al Yankovic.

He has been referred as “undeniably the World’s Premier Zydeco Showman.”  

Carrier, a native of Church Point, Louisiana, hails from a family of zydeco legends and has made his own mark as a Grammy-winning songwriter, performer, and bandleader. His band offers a unique blend of traditional Zydeco elements with contemporary influences including elements of rock, blues, and funk. Chubby’s ability to fuse different styles and his captivating stage presence have allowed him to reach a broader audience beyond Zydeco aficionados.

A third-generation zydeco musician, Carrier began his music career in Louisiana dance halls playing accordion and drums in his father’s zydeco band from the age of 12. Carrier played drums with Terrance Simien from 1986 to 1989, and then formed his own band, Chubby Carrier and the Zydeco Swamp Band. The band has released a total of 11 albums since 1989. Carrier’s most recent album, “Zydeco Junkie,” was the 2010 Grammy winner for best zydeco or Cajun album. With the 1993 Dance All Night winning broad cross-genre acclaim, and 2010’s Zydeco Junkie earning a Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music. They continue to wow audiences at home and around the globe with their large and energetic shows.