Fernest Arceneaux, lead accordionist for Fernest and the Thunders, was born on August 27, 1940 to a large sharecropping family based in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Fernest Arceneaux, lead accordionist for Fernest and the Thunders, was born on August 27, 1940 to a large sharecropping family based in Lafayette, Louisiana. He learned to play an accordion owned by his brother-in-law by under the watchful eye of his father, a local Creole musician. Fernest polished his craft by backing up his father's band at local house parties. Known in the Zydeco Nation as "The New Prince of Accordion", Fernest Arceneaux was known for his intense and creative accordion rifts. Fernest Arceneaux was torch-bearer for the classic zydeco traditions personified by the King of modern Zydeco Music, Clifton Chenier and promoted Creole and Zydeco music and heritage throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.