Obviously, Anna and I are fans of any couple whose love is built on a mutual love of the accordion. Which is why I was especially happy to see this entry in the Accordion Guy’s blog about the upcoming concert/wedding of “Canada’s premier classical accordion and clarinet duo,” Acclarion. Becky Sajo (clarinet) and David Carovillano (accordion) met three years ago and have been playing an eclectic mix of classical, jazz, tango, samba, and more, ever since. On May 27th in Toronto, they’ll perform a sixty-minute concert followed immediately by their wedding ceremony on the very same stage.

Even if you can’t make it to Toronto for the wedding, check out these sound clips — unlike most couples, Becky and David really do make beautiful music together.

Klezmerized (MP3 sample)

Tico, Tico, No Fuba (MP3 sample)

After talking up the Main Squeeze Accordion Orchestra a few weeks ago, I noticed in Corn Mo’s blog that he sat in at one of their rehearsals this week. Both artists will be anchoring an accordion-heavy lineup tomorrow (Saturday) night at Pianos in New York City. Other acts on the bill include Hang the Lights (solo project of Joshua Camp, from One Ring Zero), Infinite Orchestra, and Jonathan Vincent.

Apparently Corn Mo will be performing Bohemian Rhapsody with Main Squeeze, which sounds like a dream squeezebox collaboration if there ever was one. Drop us a line if you go to the show and we’ll post your review here next week.

Neal Pomea’s cajun music collection is a phenomenal resource for anyone interested in cajun music and its history. Neal’s gathered MP3s of recordings that go all the way back to the 1920s, often recorded off the original 78s. (I just realized that some people have probably never seen a 78…) Artists include Nathan Abshire, Joe Falcon & Cleoma Breaux, Octa Clark, Roy Fusilier, and many more. Take some time and explore the site — there’s a lot of great stuff in there. Here are a few hot tracks to get you started on your Bayou journey:

Joe Falcon & Cleoma Breaux: Fe Fe Poncheaux (MP3 download)

Octa Clark: High Ball (MP3 download)

Angelas LeJeune: Vielle Valse de la Louisiane (MP3 download)

With an album cover featuring an accordion-playing gorilla, you know it has to be good. Or at least, well, really bizarre. And that’s definitely the case with “They Said It Couldn’t Be Done” by The Mighty Accordion Band. The album features a 20-accordion-strong band playing unique arrangements of classics like “April in Paris”, “La Vie En Rose”, and “Caravan” (check here for audio clips), while the back cover boasts:

“If you’re looking for a nice old-time accordion album with Lady of Spain and the like, it should be pretty clear already that this isn’t it. For the listener, music by the Mighty Accordion Band can be summed up simply: more fun than a barrel of monkeys.”

The album was the brainchild of Dominic Frontiere, a jazz accordionist known for his willingness to push the envelope, who later turned his attention to arranging scores for film and television. Perhaps not surprisingly, this seems to be the only album he made with the Mighty Accordion Band. [Found via Echoes from AP3 in Pezland]

The town of Muenster, TX, is holding its 31st annual Germanfest this weekend, an event “where Texas hospitality and German customs meet.” Now that might sound like an odd combination, but Muenster was founded around the turn of the century by German immigrants, whose descendants now celebrate their heritage with a festival filled with food, fun, and, of course, music.

Events include a 5k/15k fun run, a bicycle rally, a sausage and rib cook-off (save me some!), and a number of other competitions including Nagelshlagen — where a spike is hammered into a tree stump by contestants to see who can hammer the spike into the stump with the fewest swings. If you’re looking for accordion tunes, you won’t be disappointed either — performers at this year’s Germanfest include Brave Combo, The Polka Kings (from Lawton, OK), Alpenfest, and more.

It’s also worth mentioning that admission is free if you arrive in “complete ethnic German costume,” so break out that lederhosen and get over to the Germanfest this weekend!

The 4th annual Art Pahl Accordion Fest will be held Sunday (tomorrow!) in Le Mars, IA, at the Plymouth County Historical Museum. The festival honors Pahl, a local accordionist known for playing at civic events, who passed away in 2003, and includes a lineup of midwestern accordionists from five states, including Pahl’s daughter, Marie Bender. Pahl’s last wish before dying of cancer was to have an accordion jam, and he participated in the first festival just before he passed away. Although players have already signed up to perform, walk-ins are welcome and anyone who plays the accordion is encouraged to show up and jam the afternoon away.

Things have been so crazy around the Let’s Polka household lately, that we forgot to wish our readers a happy Dyngus Day on Monday. Dyngus Day is a day for celebrating both Polish-American culture and the end of Lent, emphasizing Polish heritage and traditions. Polkas are played and danced, kielbasa and pierogis are eaten… you get the picture.

Buffalo, NY is the king of Dyngus Day festivities, though it’s also observed in other Polish communities, including South Bend, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and even The Villages, FL, where people came from miles around to listen to Orlando Polkamagic. Needless to say, any party that involves polkas and sausage is one that I can wholeheartedly endorse.

Want to liven up your lazy Sunday? Bay Area accordion supergroup AbsolutAccord will be playing at the San Francisco Accordion Club’s monthly meeting this Sunday, April 23rd at 2pm, at that legendary, rockin’ venue — the South San Francisco Senior Center. AbsolutAccord’s repertoire includes jazz standards, French, Italian, and Russian music, tangos, and classical music — here’s a sample:

El Choclo Tango (MP3 download)

I’ve been meaning to write about the Main Squeeze Accordion Orchestra, and after reading this great insider’s view of the group by Main Squeezer Rachel Zoll, I can’t hold back anymore. Main Squeeze is a 15-woman, all-female, all-accordion band from New York City that plays everything from Bach to Kurt Weill to Queen. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Wow, that sounds like the best thing ever!”, you are absolutely right.

The orchestra was founded in 2002 by Walter Kuhr, owner of Main Squeeze Accordions in New York, when “one night, after attending an accordion festival, Kuhr dreamt he was the conductor of an all-female accordion orchestra… not just any all-female accordion orchestra, but an orchestra of unsurpassable quality.” It sounds like the dream, complete with glossy accordions and pigtails, has been realized.

If you’re in the New York area, you can catch the Main Squeeze Accordion Orchestra on Friday, April 21st at Moe Pitkins. If you’re not so fortunate, you can settle for these audio and video clips (check their site for more):

Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division cover; MP3 download)

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite (Beatles cover; Quicktime video)