The 2026 Grammy nominations for Best Regional Roots Music Album include Valcour Records’ Clifton Chenier centennial collaboration, “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco.”
Proceeds from the all-star album featuring The Rolling Stones sustain the new Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship at UL Lafayette for students studying zydeco accordion in the Dr. Tommmy Comeaux Endowed Chair in Traditional Music. Now in its 15th year, the program remains one of a handful nationwide — and the only one in the state — dedicated to roots music.
“The Chenier scholarship is coming at the right time in terms of where we are and letting people know what we’re doing and why we’re special,” said Dr. Gwendolen von Einsiedel, the second holder of the Comeaux Endowed Chair and an associate professor in the School of Music and Performing Arts in an interview in La Louisiane. “It’s beautiful, and we are so grateful.”
“A Tribute to the King of Zydeco” is available for purchase on all major streaming services, locally, and online at . Learn how you can donate directly to the .
This year’s Grammy Awards will take place on Feb. 1, and broadcast live on CBS and on demand on Paramount+.
Read more about the album and Clifton Chenier’s legacy in the 2025 issue of La Louisiane.
Photo caption: The album’s cover features Dickie Landry’s photo of Cleveland and Clifton Chenier. (Courtesy of Valcour Records)
