Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys have been the working face of Cajun dance music since 1988. Led by accordionist Steve Riley and fiddler David Greely — who founded the band together and reunited in the lineup around 2022 after a decade apart — the Playboys have put out 18 albums, most of them in French on Rounder Records, earning four Grammy nominations along the way: Trace of Time, Bon Rêve, their live set from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and Grand Isle.
The band's reputation stretches well past Acadiana: they have shared stages and studios with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, and Paul Simon. Riley himself picked up a 2013 Grammy with Wayne Toups and Wilson Savoy, and he doubles as a member of Lil Band o' Gold. The current lineup — Riley on accordion, Greely on fiddle, Sam Broussard on guitar, Burke Riley on drums, and Thomas David on bass — keeps the band's dancehall standard wherever they play.
For festival bookers and Cajun dancehall promoters, the Playboys are the genre's most decorated touring act: tight, seasoned, and still the benchmark for the two-step and the waltz. Their official site handles booking.
