In their roundup of the best and worst from last weekend’s Coachella Festival, the Press-Enterprise declares the accordion the festival’s “best offbeat instrument,” noting that it’s “not just for polka bands anymore.” They cite accordion-fueled performances by some of our favorite artists, including Julieta Venegas, Gogol Bordello, and the Decemberists. (Though no mention of Arcade Fire, another Coachella band with a penchant for accordions.)

[Found via TDA’s Wall of Wheeze]

After a couple weeks of vacation/neglect, I spent the weekend adding a bunch of concerts and festivals to our accordion event calendar. On tap for this week:

• They Might Be Giants (various dates)
  The venerable alt-rockers hit the road for a “secret warm-up tour” before the release of their latest album, The Else. Can you believe they’ve been together for 25 years?
• Brett Gibson (Saturday in Overland Park, KS)
  Accordionist Brett Gibson will be the featured soloist with the Kansas City Civic Orchestra and will perform Astor Piazzolla’s Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra.
• Geoff Berner (Thur-Sat in Western Canada)
  The sharp-witted Vancouver accordionist/songwriter brings his rough-edged take on klezmer to Saskatchewan and Manitoba. I hope they’re ready.

I still have a ton of shows to add, so if there’s anything squeeze-worthy happening in your neighborhood, be sure to let me know!

We’re back from vacation and ready to squeeze! Let’s start by checking out this week’s accordion calendar:

• Festival International de Louisiane (Wed-Sun in Lafayette, LA)
  This huge, free festival celebrates the French cultural heritage of southern Louisiana with food, arts and crafts, and LOTS of music. This year’s lineup includes Beausoleil, Los Texmaniacs, Rob Curto’s Forro for All, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, and many more.
• Walter Ostanek (Monday in Franklin, WI)
  Canada’s Polka King brings his legendary Cleveland-style polka stylings to the Milwaukee Accordion Club.
• Muenster Germanfest (Fri-Sun in Muenster, TX)
  Every year thousands flock to Muenster for sausage, strudel, and the sound of polka. Performers include Brave Combo, Alpenfest, and the Polka Kings.

And there’s a lot more — including Geno Delafose and Chris Ardoin in New Orleans, the “American Irish” band Solas in Texas, and One Ring Zero in New York City. As usual, let us know if there we’ve missed any accordion happenings in your neighborhood.

Some highlights from this week’s accordion calendar:

• Accordion Pops: Concert of Hope (Saturday in Philadelphia, PA)
  The Accordion Pops Orchestra presents their third “Concert of Hope” to benefit the ALS Hope Foundation. Listen to the East Coast’s only professional accordion orchestra perform the works of Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Mancini, and more, for a good cause.
• Los Reyes De La Calle Seis (Saturday in Austin, TX)
  Relive the glory days of Austin’s famous 6th Street in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, with the musicians who were there. Features a special guest appearance by Grammy winner, Flaco Jimenez.
• Polka Melodies Appreciation Dance (Sunday in Muskegon, MI)
  Party with Tom and Mary from the Polka Melodies radio show in Michigan. Performers include the Steve Meisner Band, Diddle Styx Polka Band, Ray Watkoski Family Band, and the Grabinski Orchestra.

There are plenty of other squeezin’ happenings, too, including Dino Saluzzi and Anja Lechner touring the West Coast, Stas Venglevski and John Simkus in Maryland, and Dick Contino and Friends up in Yakima, Washington. Drop us a line if there’s anything in your area that we’ve missed.

The Accordion Teachers Association of Massachusetts (ATAM) is holding their annual New England Music Festival this weekend in Newton, MA. The festival includes an accordion ensemble and band competition on Saturday and Sunday, as well as individual competitions.

As it happens, Anna and I will be in the Boston area this weekend and we’re hoping to swing by the festival on Saturday to hear some music and pass out a few Let’s Polka stickers. If you’re going to be there, send us an email or leave a comment on this post and we’ll keep an eye out for you.

In Poland, Easter Monday is known as Dyngus Day — a holiday celebrating Polish heritage and traditions following Lent. Here in the United States, in cities like Buffalo, Chicago, and South Bend, it’s the perfect occasion to indulge in some kielbasa and polka music. LOTS of polka music.

• Dyngus Day Buffalo (Monday in Buffalo, NY)
  Buffalo has an impressive lineup of Dyngus Day events, with some bands playing multiple gigs on Monday. Performers include Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push, Fritz’s Polka Band, and Concertina All Stars, and many more.
• Eddie Blazoncyzk’s Versatones (Monday in North Liberty, IN)
  Just outside of South Bend, Eddie Blazoncyzk’s Versatones will supply the tunes for Dyngus Day at the Crumstown Conservation Club.
• John Stevens’ Doubleshot (Monday in The Villages, FL)
  Dyngus Day festivities… in Florida? You bet!

But Dyngus Day is far from the only thing on our accordion calendar this week. There’s Kutshers Polka Weekend featuring Jimmy Sturr, Spring Oktoberfest in Philadelphia, the International Polka Association Benefit Dinner/Dance in Maryland, and a whole lot more.

If there’s something in your neighborhood that we’ve missed, let us know!

What’s squeezin’ this week?

• Vagabond Opera (Various dates in Northern California)
  Klezmer, gypsy, tango, jazz… the Vagabond Opera is all this and much, much more. The Portland band brings its eclectic, bohemian cabaret style to Northern California for a string of shows this week.
• Marie-Josée Houle (Wednesday in Vieux-Hull, QC)
  The sound of Paris, in Quebec. Singer/accordionist Marie-Josée Houle celebrates the release of her new solo CD, Our Lady of Broken Souls.
• Los Tigres del Norte (Saturday in San Jose, CA)
  Hot off a win at last month’s Grammys, the norteño legends (and San Jose residents) headline a hometown show. Their latest album, Detalles y Emociones, was released last week.

As usual, this is just a small sampling of the events listed on our accordion calendar this week. Check the listings for more events, and let us know if there’s any we missed in your area.

What’s on the accordion calendar this week? Here are some highlights:

• Ivan Milev Band (Tuesday in New York, NY)
  Bulgarian accordion legend Ivan Milev plays rousing Balkan folk music with virtuoso technique. Watch this clip and try to keep up with his fingers.
• Rice and Gravy Cook-Off (Saturday in Lafayette, LA)
  Mmm… the Louisiana Beef Council’s Rice and Gravy Cook-Off promises free rice and gravy samples, plus zydeco music from Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys, Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys, Donnie Broussard and Louisiana Stars, and more. First 500 people get a 1 lb. bag of rice!
• Jason Webley (various dates)
  The charismatic, tomato-lovin’ singer/songwriter/accordionist continues his East Coast tour this week with dates in New York and Massachusetts.

In other news, our calendar is no longer limited to North America — we now list events in the United Kingdom and (soon) the rest of Europe. So if you have an accordion event coming up soon, even if it’s across the sea, let us know.

Did you know there are over 250 upcoming events on our accordion calendar? That’s a lot of bellows pumping! Here are some of this week’s highlights:

• Julz A (Various dates in Midwest)
  Brooklyn accordionist/rapper Julz A takes his “They Might Be Giants meets Beck at a polka juiced street party” sound to Oklahoma and Kansas this week. Wichita, are you ready to rock???
• Lenny Gomulka and Chicago Push (Thursday-Sunday in Florida)
  Lenny and his band leave chilly Chicago for a week of shows in sunny Florida. Think of it as spring training for polka musicians.
• T. Broussard and the Zydeco Steppers (Sunday in New York, NY)
  Laura Selikson and Let’s Zydeco (no relation to Let’s Polka) have been bringing the biggest and best zydeco acts to New York City for years. This week, T. Broussard goes North for a hot show at Connolly’s on 45th.

Remember, if there’s an accordion event in your area and it isn’t on our calendar, tell us about it!