Marc and Ann Savoy are pictured in the top photograph, with Wilson Savoy, one of their sons, on piano. In the photograph immediately above, Eunice Mayor Kenneth Peart can be seen playing triangle at far left.  In the picture of Savoy Music Center, two of Tina Pilione's chickens are visible in the lower right hand corner of the shot. One way to know you've reached the right place on a Saturday morning is to look for the line of cars that visitors park along the shoulder of Highway 190 after the small store lot quickly fills up.

The late Milton Adams, who was one of the last remaining old time accordion players, is shown in the right column. He died in 2002.

When Marc Savoy opened his music store in 1966, he decided to preserve the old tradition of meeting with friends and customers on Saturday morning for a cup of coffee and something to snack on. At his store, it was natural also to get together to play a few tunes while enjoying one another's company.

Today, decades later, those Saturday morning jam sessions, held 9 a.m.-noon, are still going strong, and that pot of coffee is still on the counter. On the particular morning in August when these photographs were taken, the boudin arrived about 10:30. Marc Savoy took a break from playing to move around the store, inviting everyone to sample some boudin that Wilson, one of his sons, was cutting up and serving.

The jam sessions at the Savoy Music Center are very informal. Everyone who shows up with an instrument can play, with no signing up or having to wait a turn. Not only do they have an opportunity to play with two internationally celebrated Cajun musicians, Marc Savoy, who typically sits at the old upright piano or plays the fiddle instead of accordion, and with his wife, Ann Savoy. They also have a chance to play with and to learn from older Cajun musicians like Milton Adams, one of the last of the old-time accordion players. Like most jam session in Acadiana, the participants join together performing traditional Cajun songs that everyone knows and loves.

Everyone is invited to stop to watch and listen, or to join in singing. On most Saturdays, visitors are present from around the country and often from around the world.

The Savoy Music Center is located about two miles east of Eunice on the north side of Highway 190. For more information, call (337) 457-9563.

All photographs and text by David Simpson.

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