The BluesBox Bayou Band adds swamp beat boogie and blues to Louisiana dance grooves to create its own Americana/Cajun/Zydeco sound, mixing originals with dance and party favorites such as “Iko Iko” and “Big Mamou.” Based in Sonora, the BBBB has built its chops and fan base over more than a decade of performing, including gigs at fundraisers and festivals from the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee to the Gilroy Garlic Festival and the Isleton Crawdad Festival. It won an Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting award in the 2009 Great American Song Contest for “Family Bayou,” which is also the title track of the BBBB’s latest CD.

Singer and accordionist Pete (PD) Grimaldi formed the band in 1996 after a stint as a promoter of shows in hometown Modesto by acts from Queen Ida and Buckwheat Zydeco to Tom Rigney. That exposure to music from Louisiana and beyond inspired Grimaldi to pick up the squeezebox himself and put his own spin on “roots music.” The current BBBB also features Pete’s brother Frank Grimaldi on lead guitar, bassist and singer Julie Johnson, drummer Peter DeMattos, and Jim Hildreth (Lil’ Jimmy) on scrubboard and percussion.