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Back to Podcast EpisodesAndre Michot – Michot Accordions
Andre Michot, a driving force behind Louisiana’s cultural soundscape and a founding member of the Grammy-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers, joins Discover Lafayette to discuss Michot Accordions.
Widely known for pushing Cajun music forward while remaining deeply rooted in tradition, Andre’s influence extends well beyond the stage. He is also the proprietor and craftsman behind Michot Accordions, where he builds, restores, and customizes traditional Cajun accordions entirely by hand, creating instruments that don’t just make music, but carry culture.
We sat down with Andre right before Christmas 2025, inspired in part by a recent Acadiana Profile article highlighting local craftsmen who help preserve the region’s musical heritage. Andre reflected on the shrinking number of Cajun accordion builders, noting that while there are now “maybe 10 or 12 accordion builders in South Louisiana,” there were once “30 or more in the 70s and 80s.”
A Family Steeped in Music
Andre’s musical roots run deep. He grew up surrounded by Cajun music through his father and uncles, who started playing together as Les Frères Michot, an all-brothers Cajun band, in 1986. The individual musicians have played with each other and with numerous other groups since then.
Although accordion music was always present in his home, Andre didn’t begin playing the instrument himself until age 24. Before that, he filled in on guitar with his family’s band in the mid-to-late 1980s.
“That’s what I play with Lost Bayou Ramblers,” Andre shared, explaining that he learned accordion by borrowing instruments from his father, uncles, and anyone else who would lend him one. In 1998, Andre and his brother Louis formed Lost Bayou Ramblers, with Louis playing fiddle at the same time Andre took up accordion.
Published on 2 weeks ago