Valerie Sassyfras has been bringing her one-of-a-kind, unconventional spirit to New Orleans musical stages for over 20 years, as documented by WWOZ. Prolific on keyboard, accordion, and mandolin, she ranges from Cajun and zydeco to modern-day twerking with crowd-pleasing tunes like "Girls Night Out," "Big Bang," and "Hide the Pickle."
Her live performances combine the accordion, the mandolin, and signature dance moves in an original blend of swamp-pop that earned "The Sass" a devoted cult following. After a video of "Girls Night Out" went viral and appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she was invited to compete on America's Got Talent. OffBeat calls her a "beloved local performer and zydeco pop star" who has opened and performed with Tank & The Bangas, Boyfriend, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Portugal.The Man, and Marc Rebillet.
Her life story is told in the documentary Nobody May Come by Ella Hatamian & Stiven Luka, which won Best Cinematography at the 2020 New Orleans Film Festival and Best Documentary at the 2022 Toronto Arthouse Film Festival. Her album Electric Rain, her eighth release, launched at the House of Blues in April 2022.
