Fire of Tierra Caliente @ The Whirlybird
Schedule
Sun, 21 Sep, 2025 at 02:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
The Whirlybird Fiddle Bar | Opelousas, LA
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Fire of Tierra Caliente @ The Bird - Sunday, Sept 21 2-5 PM $15🎙 WBRD Field Report – The Fire Finds Its Way to The Bird
Nicky Butler on-air:
Y’all, I’m sittin’ here in The Bird, late afternoon, roll doors wide so the breeze can wander in. Christy’s settin’ the bar, chairs scuffin’ across the floor, and I swear these walls can already feel what’s comin’. They’ve soaked up it all — singer-songwriter and swamp pop, zydeco and blues, rockabilly, Cajun two-steps, jazz, honky-tonk, classic country, old-time, bluegrass, even alt-country punk. And now, once again, they’re gettin’ ready for the Fire of Tierra Caliente to spark and light up the spirit.
In the hills of Guerrero, Mexico, a fiddler named Juan Reynoso played music so rare and beautiful it was like fire singin’ through strings. His bow carried centuries — gustos and sones in 6/8 rhythm with Spanish and African roots, danzones and boleros carried from Cuba, polkas, marches, waltzes echoing Europe, even foxtrots and swing with a taste of America. A mélange of the world’s footprints, all stamped with the dust and heat of Tierra Caliente. Reynoso proved a truth I hold close — music has no age when it’s played live, with soul. Every note breathes brand new in the moment.
And folks caught that fire. Paul Anastasio, once fiddlin’ behind Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn, sat at Reynoso’s side in ’96 and came back north with 2,700 hours of recordings, 700 transcriptions — a lifework of preservation. Tina Pilione, music-loving artist, found Reynoso in 2002 and never looked back, sometimes playing the 12 string bajo sexto or the six string, singin’ boleros and gustos with the notebooks to prove it. Add Raquel ParaÃso, violinist and ethnomusicologist tracing the cultural currents of Mexico, and Francisco ‘Pancho’ López, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of Sotavento, teachin’ and performin’ across borders — together they don’t just keep the fire alive, they fan it forward.
And that’s why they’re comin’ here. The Whirlybird was built for moments like this — where traditions meet, shake hands, and swap stories at the Whirlybird bar. Our philosophy’s simple: this music ain’t for archives — it’s for breath and sound, for the living moment. And deeper still — here at The Bird we look for strategies for survival, for paths of action. Music shows us how: by carryin’ forward what came before, by shapin’ it into somethin’ alive right now, by refusin’ to let it die. That’s our way, and it’s the way of every soul who keeps this flame lit.
On Sunday, September 21, the doors open at 2 PM — bar cold, food hot — and by 3 PM, the music will catch fire.
So bring your friends, your curious spirit, your two good ears. Y’all know The Bird ain’t just a venue — it’s a vessel. And this Sunday, it’ll carry the fire of Tierra Caliente straight into our bones.
When the strings catch, let your bones remember — music ain’t just memory, it’s survival.
That’s WBRD, radio for the restless spirit, signin’ off with this truth: Some fires ain’t meant to be contained. They’re meant to spread.
Need directions? Purchase your ticket and email Jim at [email protected] and he will send you the secret directions
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Where is it happening?
The Whirlybird Fiddle Bar, 4092 LA-182, Opelousas, LA 70570-4656, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
