For the fifth of a series of quick QnAs with artists performing at Womad NZ this year, we ask Ann Savoy of the Savoy Family Cajun Band (pronounced sav-wah family cay-jnn band) a few questions.

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For the fifth of a series of quick QnAs with artists performing at Womad NZ this year, we ask Ann Savoy of the Savoy Family Cajun Band (pronounced sav-wah family cay-jnn band) a few questions.

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Drawing inspiration from house dances in his father's Louisiana kitchen, Marc Savoy started playing button accordion at 12 and has become the finest Cajun player of his generation. With his wife Ann Allen Savoy and their sons Joel and Wilson, the band plays with a plaintive, unvarnished delivery that plucks at the heartstrings.

What (or who) did you want to be when you were growing up?

Cleoma Falcon, the pioneering woman of Cajun music

What are you reading at the moment?

The Dark Clue-a historical novel about the painter Turner

What are you looking forward to most about coming to New Zealand?

Seeing what we have heard is one of the most beautiful countries in the world-and the ocean!

Can you give a brief account of the idea behind your work?

We are playing traditional cajun music with a few newer songs included, and breathing new life into them

Where did the inspiration for this work come from?

Dancehalls and 78 records of Cajun music

What do you hope audiences will take away from this work?

A spirit of fun, looseness, and maybe a few dance steps

What else are you currently working on?

I am writing a second book on the the history of the music of the Cajun people (Cajun Music A Reflection of a people Vol 2) and a record of the songs of Cleoma Falcon

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Savoy Family Cajun Band perform at Womad NZ, Taranaki, March 15-17, 2013