Bonsoir, Catin plays authentic Cajun music that is energetic, passionate and heart-felt. Band members Christine Balfa, Kristi Guillory, Yvette Landry and Anya Burgess go together like peas and carrots, beer and boudin.

It happened one night in Chicot State park around a campfire. Four girls, all friends, playing music and visiting until the early morning hours. They realized that they shared the same vision that Cajun music should be unafraid and unabashed, full of energy and raw emotion. Since that night, Bonsoir, Catin has emerged as one of South Louisiana's most exciting new Cajun bands.

Members Christine Balfa, Anya Burgess, Yvette Landry and Kristi Guillory play together with an intensity that stems from their passion for their music and culture. It is not unlikely to hear a wide variety of Cajun music styles during their set. They have been influenced by Cajun music local heros such as Edius Naquin, Octa Clark, Adam Hebert, Joe Warren Cormier, Aldus Roger, Sheryl Cormier...the list goes on.

Their repertoire ranges from songs learned from archival field recordings of non-commerically recorded home music to the music of the 1930s and 1940s like early Lawrence Walker and the Segura Brothers, all the way through the post World War II dancehall-era and into the present day. Bonsoir, Catin also enjoys writing their own style of organic traditional Cajun music that comes from their experiences as veteran Cajun musicians. Yes, Bonsoir, Catin is an all-female Cajun band. Their music is an expression of what it is to be a Cajun woman--feminine, classy, smart, brave, take-charge, and no-nonsense. A Bonsoir, Catin live show is not just a performance. It is an unforgettable experience.


Kristi Guillory
ACCORDION, VOCALS

She is probably the smallest adult Cajun accordion player ever known. She can play, however, like a big rice-fed country boy. Kristi grew up watching her guitarist grandfather, Jesse Duhon, who played with Octa Clark and the Dixie Ramblers during the 1930s. She found the accordion and began playing Cajun music when she was 10 years old. A couple of years later, she formed a band, Reveille, with other area young musicians. After graduating high school Kristi took time off from music to finish her Francophone Studies degree and then again to complete an M.A. in Folklore. During this musical hiatus, she played folk music in coffee shops, got mixed up with a guy from Boston, married him and had an impish little girl named Morgan. She came out of retirement after she met Yvette one night at a dance and was easily coaxed into playing again. Kristi is obsessed with sad, pitiful Cajun songs, raunchy drinking ones and the fantastical lyrics of old Cajun accapella ballads.  She might also be called Prof. Guillory now, as she's commanding a beginning accordion class at ULL and passing on all of her hard-earned accordion secrets.



Christine Balfa
GUITAR, VOCALS

Christine is one of Cajun music's most talented and revered vocalists and guitar players. She began playing music as a teenager with her father, Dewey Balfa, and has continued her family legacy in a major way. She plays the guitar in the rhythmic style of her uncle Rodney Balfa and sings with so much emotion that it is not uncommon to see her eyes mist over when she sings a powerful, sad Jesse Lege waltz. It is also not uncommon to see her, because she plays so doggone hard, break multiple guitar strings during a gig (sometimes all of them at once--a difficult feat for any guitarist). Christine is also founding director of the non-profit organization, Louisiana Folk Roots, an organization dedicated to preserving Louisiana's valuable cultural landscape. She also leads the powerhouse Cajun band,  Balfa Toujours. When Christine is not being a cultural ambassador or gigging around the world, she can be found hanging out at Veille Terre Haute with her family where she has dedicated herself to passing on her "Basileness" to her two beautiful daughters, Sophie and Amelia.



Yvette Landry
BASS, VOCALS

Yvette is a very talented and sought-after all-around musician, a native of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. While she resided in Lafayette for a while to experience the urban life, she has since returned to her family home in St. Martin Parish. As the former Crawfish Festival Queen and runner-up for the Queen of Queens, Yvette brings a regal air and poise to Bonsoir, Catin and is often called the "queen of Cajun bass." She comes from a long line and venerable line of musicians. Her grandfather, Lucien Landry of the Louisiana Six and the Bill Landry Orchestra was one of the most important Louisiana musicians of the 1930s and into the 1950s. Her grandmother, Viola Hebert Landry played with her brothers in the Louisiana six. Yvette is an accomplished musician in her own right. She was classically trained as a pianist and travelled throughout the United States and Europe but has since been called to the other side. Yvette's hobbies include dancing like a fool, eating almonds, running the roads with her adorable son Trevor and remodeling old houses. She is also an accomplished woodworker but the Catins have unanimously decided that she should have married a carpenter. She can be seen frequenting John's Store and the Bridge Bar. Yvette also plays bass with the Lafayette Rhythm Devils and has her own country band, The Yvette Landry Band.  She's also getting to be a pretty awesome accordion player!



Anya Burgess
FIDDLE, VOCALS

Anya is a fiddle player that any band would love to have in their line-up. She's solid, honest, creative and consistent. Anya incorporates a number of styles into her playing including old-time and country. Anya has been playing traditional music for some time. She grew up in New England and began playing music at a very young age. She attended Bowdoin College and the John C. Campell Folk School. From there she went on to Indiana University where she studied folklore and completed a program in violin making and stringed instrument repair. She runs her own shop and keeps most fiddle players in the area in good shape. In fact, she plays on the fiddle that she made -- a mighty fine instrument for a mighty fine player. Anya migrated to Louisiana some time ago, liked the weather, found a nice Louisiana boy and decided to set up her violin shop on the banks of the Bayou Teche in Arnaudville, LA. Immersion in Cajun music was just another step in the right direction. Anya also plays fiddle with The Magnolia Sisters.