Nathan Williams has been playing zydeco music for nearly 30 years. He's toured the world with his band the Zydeco Cha-Chas and earned countless awards and recognition. He's performed at venues like the Grand Ole Opry and collaborated with artists like Buddy Guy and Cyndi Lauper.
"Like they always say, thank God I've been in the music business, traveling all over the country representing Louisiana."
His son, Nathan Williams, Jr. is also a zydeco musician and says his father has been a pioneer in the industry.
"He was like a model, he was like a person you could look at and say well I saw my dad do this, I wanna do it."
While zydeco may not get the pop and commercial attention like other genres, it is growing in popularity, especially in the younger generations. Events like tonight's Zydeco Music Awards help give these artists the recognition they deserve.
"Recognizing zydeco artists and getting the young kids into it, you know to keep it up because we not gonna be around always."
"We know that zydeco is gonna continue because the younger generation gets into it, it's gonna continue to grow."