It’s happenin y’all! Next year, 2024 Disneyland, California and Walt Disneyworld, Florida will debut a new ride attraction based on the 2009 film, The Princess & The Frog, that ft. their very first Black Princess, Tiana – “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.”
The wildly talented Terence Blanchard and PJ Morton of New Orleans composed and produced most of the music, BUT we got an opportunity to also contribute!
Team work makes the dream work – the Disney Krewe & us, right here!
On Sept. 21, 2023, Terrance co-produced music for the ride with our band featuring two amazing women – The Queen of New Orleans Soul, Irma Thomas and our very own Marcella Simien. The session was pure Disney magic and we are still in awe of the Disney team, especially JD for their vision and dedication to our music and culture.
The Disney creative team and imagineers have been spending months and months in Louisiana as they build out the ride, with the intention of representing with respect for the authentic culture that we have here. Check out the zydeco band serenading the park visitors with an old license plate as a rubboard!
From the Disney Parks blog:
“As you can see here, fireflies will light up the night and invite you deeper into the bayou … almost like they’re waving you forward. What you can’t tell from this rendering – so you’ll just have to trust me on this one – is that beautiful zydeco music will fill the air. Zydeco is a special blend of rhythm and blues that was born in Louisiana, and when you hear it, you’ll feel like you’ve truly stepped into Tiana’s world.”
“Here you’ll find Louis, who explains where this amazing music is coming from. Tiana made some new friends out here – a band full of adorable critters, including an otter, a rabbit, a racoon, a beaver, a turtle and others. The band members sing and play instruments made of natural materials they found in the bayou. It feels like they may have a bigger role to play in this story … but we’ll just have to wait and see on that one.”
This is huge for New Orleans, Louisiana and our music culture. Disney rides typically stand the test of time, like decades of time – and we feel this will be another wonderful tool for us to share our culture with a more mainstream public that may be as familiar with zydeco, New Orleans jazz, funk and brass band music – all the while helping people learn about our unique culture, and US!
We are counting the days…….