In this episode of 'Exposition: An Arts + Culture Podcast', we speak with Dennis Stroughmatt.
He's an Illinois-Missouri French Creole musician, and so much more. The fiddle is his main instrument, often playing with his band, l’Esprit Creole. They've played all over the U.S.A. and the world.
A college-aged Dennis got his start in the region after the late Dr. Frank Nickell, a history professor at Southeast Missouri State University, introduced him to the French Creole communities around the Old Mines Area in southeast Washington, St. Francois, and Jefferson counties in Missouri.
Dennis recounts his early exposure to French culture in Vincennes, Indiana, and his immersion in the Old Mines area of Missouri, where he learned fiddle playing and the French language from local musicians and community members.
He also discusses the unique Missouri French musical style, distinct from Cajun music, and his experiences living in Louisiana.
Stroughmatt plays the final concert of the 2026 'Tunes at Twilight' Spring Series in downtown Cape Girardeau. The show is at the Ivers Square Gazebo on Friday, June 12th at 7 pm. The rain-out location is Gospel Life Church, 817 Broadway Street.
More about Dennis Stroughmatt (from http://www.creolefiddle.com/)
Fingers and bow flying, Dennis Stroughmatt takes listeners on a musical odyssey not so different from his own musical journeys into Upper Louisiana Creole Culture. Taught to play fiddle by local Creole fiddlers Roy Boyer and Charlie Pashia in the tradition of their fathers, Dennis gradually became an adopted son of the French Midwest Creoles living along the Mississippi River near St Louis. A vibrant blend of Celtic, Canadian, and Old Time sounds, this music bridges the gap between contemporary Canadian and Louisiana Cajun styles. Preserved by families in the Ozark foothills, the music remains largely intact and true to the traditions that have been passed down for over three centuries.
A medley of music, language, stories, and culture secreted away in the Missouri Ozarks now has a voice in the tapestry of this world. With the blessing of the Creole people of the Midwest, Dennis Stroughmatt et l’Esprit Creole are its passionate ambassadors, expanding interest and excitement in a region that has been, in may ways, ignored by the history books. What many have considered to be long lost is alive and kicking.
It’ll make your soul jump, your head spin, and your heart glad to know that it is still here. As they say in the hills, “On est toujours icitte: We are still here!!
