BeauSoleil is, quite simply, the most esteemed Cajun group on the planet. Fiddler Michael Doucet is well known for his mission to keep the unique southern Louisiana culture and music from extinction, but that hasn't stopped his band from innovating. BeauSoleil continually spices its Cajun gumbo with elements of zydeco, New Orleans jazz, Tex-Mex, country and blues, keeping the music vital and contemporary. Doucet formed BeauSoleil in 1975 with Louisiana's finest Cajun musicians. Their band name literally means "good sun" and is a reference to a fertile region in Nova Scotia where the band's 17th-century, French-speaking ancestors lived prior to their migration to Louisiana, where they became "Cajuns." Over the past three Grammy-studded decades, BeauSoleil has made nearly 30 albums that range from very traditional to experimental.