Mumbai: Lionsgate has signed cajun/zydeco act the Pine Leaf Boys to a record and publishing deal, it was announced by Lionsgate Music President Jay Faires. Their new album is slated for a September release.
"Their last two records really caught our attention and when the opportunity came to work with them, we jumped at it," said Faires. "Wilson and the guys are so obviously talented and to see them treat this genre with such reverence while they move it forward is very exciting to us. This continues our push into what we see as underserved genres from which we can break new acts."
Hailing from southwest Louisiana, the Pine Leaf Boys made their mark in 2007 with a Grammy nomination for Best Cajun/Zydeco Album. The band consists of five musicians in their 20s who have created their own take on traditional Cajun music. With three European tours in the past year and approximately 160 tour dates that included Jazzfest, Merlefest, and the Kennedy Center, the Pine Leaf Boys have become noted for their strong live performances.
Geoffrey Himes praises them in a New York Times article, describing their shows as "combining a mysterious past — the nearly forgotten dialect and the archaic squeezebox’s red bellows — with unabashed rock ‘n’ roll energy". Rolling Stone describes the group as "steeped in tradition … but with free-range ambitions in soul" and NPR recently featured the Pine Leaf Boys on "Morning Edition", crediting the band for keeping Cajun Music alive.
Lionsgate has upcoming artist releases from Lee Scratch Perry and Glacier Hiking as well as new soundtracks for Weeds and Mad Men on the television side and The Lucky Ones, Punisher 2: War Zone and The Spirit on its film slate. Lionsgate’s music team recently announced an unprecedented partnership with Getty Images, providing award-winning scores for the launch of their music-licensing venture.
Continuing to expand their artist roster, Lionsgate has signed eight-time ASCAP and seven-time BMI award winning TV composer David Vanacore and three time IBMA award winners The Infamous Stringdusters.
Other recent achievements include Marco Beltrami’s Academy Award nominated score for the hit 3:10 To Yuma, a prestigious line-up of artists such as Bob Dylan, Miles Davis and the Andrews Sisters on the Golden Globe winning and multiple Emmy-winning television drama Mad Men, innovative main title covers from the likes of Linkin Park, Randy Newman and Elvis Costello on the television comedy hit Weeds and original end titles from Dr. Dre and The Flaming Lips on the latest Lionsgate features.
