Terrance Simien "probably has the best voice in his genre" and a live performance that was voted by Billboard Magazine as one of the Top Ten Live Performance Acts of the Year. This eclectic artist headlines festivals of all types worldwide. His legendary live performance is guaranteed to get your audience involved, excited and grooving like you have never seen before! This all ages show works well in many different formats: World, Folk, Americana, International, Blues or even Jam band. He showers his ecstatic audiences with handfuls of authentic Mardi Gras beads and invites them on stage for a percussion jam. This is the sound that put the Creole culture of Louisiana on the map and is delivered by one of the most innovative artists in the genre. He furthers his effort to raise the awareness about his indigenous music and Creole heritage by presenting an acclaimed Arts-in-Education Creole for Kidz and the History of Zydeco (with a companion CD) performance for students K-12 at schools, festivals and art centers around the country.
This “Zydeco Master” and native Creole of Louisiana is already a legend in his genre after nearly two decades as a professional touring and recording artist. He has consistently diversified and shaped his beloved zydeco music into a sound uniquely his. A true visionary, his audience expects him to push the creative envelope. Whether he is creating new zydeco standards or re-creating a cover to sound refreshingly new he does it all with unconventional arrangements and instrumentation. He delivers this eclectic fusion of sound with astonishing vocals that are often compared to Sam Cooke, Aaron Neville or Al Green.“Simien has the fluid expressive pipes of a great R&B singer.”
In a genre that is rarely recognized by mainstream media, Simien is one of a select few who have been given the nod from and featured by Rolling Stone and Time Magazine, VH-1 and CNN Worldbeat just to name a few. He has been featured on House of Blues Radio Hour with Dan Aykroyd sponsored by the Louisiana Office of Tourism.
He has toured with roots greats Los Lobos and pop sensation Robert Palmer. He has performed and recorded with Paul Simon. He recently, (2001) toured with the Dave Matthews Band; a real testament to the level of artistry Simien has achieved in his 20 year artistic evolution. Dave introduced him each night urging his audience “to take notice” of his friends from Louisiana and then later joined Terrance for a duet during his set. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MinneapolisTribune
He has worked in film, both on screen and on soundtrack. He co-wrote a song with Dennis Quaid for the movie “The Big Easy.” At Bill Clinton’s second inaugural celebration Stevie Wonder joined Simien on stage to play harmonica as the band performed for the President and Mrs.Clinton at The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
His latest release, entitled The Tribute Sessions honors 10 legendary artists through their own songs; those who profoundly inspired him. He also shares through narration, some very personal stories about each of these remarkable artists. This timely tribute clearly reflects his rare and valuable capacity to honor the past while remaining decidedly focused on the future. The most recognized music source for Louisiana music, Offbeat Magazine in New Orleans voted it in the Top 50 CD’s of 2001.
