New grooves at the 2024 Maryland Folk Festival

SALISBURY, Md. – The 2024 Maryland Folk Festival gave people the chance to experience culture and tradition from far beyond the Eastern Shore.

“Cajun Music comes from South Louisiana, southwest Louisiana, around Layfette, that’s where we’re from. It’s music rooted in French culture, it’s 95% sung in French…It’s a dance music. It’s a fun music, it’s made for dancing.”

Drew Simon with Pine Leaf Boys said that, even though it’s not in English, there’s something familiar about the music they play that strikes a chord with people: “Cajun Music is pretty much just old country music but sung in French, you know. The stories are all the same it’s heartbreak, lost love.”

From Cajun spice to a more Latin flavor, Mireya Ramos described Flor De Toloache’s music as New York Style Mariachi: “We fuse genres from Cuban music, to salsa, to hip-hop, to jazz, R&B, soul, country, you name it.”

Bandmate Shae Fiol believes there’s something special that happens when you’re able to bridge the gap with music. “It’s really cool because we feel like it connects with all different kinds of people, people that love all different kinds of music and from different cultures as well. So I feel like it’s really unifying,” she said.

To Ramos, music can be a strong unifying force, and she hoped the Salisbury crowd felt it. “We love to see that spread to people and spread into people’s heart. So we hope that they leave with that message and they see and they witness how powerful and how beautiful things can be if we come together,” Ramos said.