The first time we met, I had the pleasure to take Cajun accordion classes with him at Fiddle Tunes in 2017. He was a slightly nervous, reluctant teacher at first and later confessed that he “wasn’t much of a teacher” and “wasn’t sure why he was asked to be there.” He was, in fact, an excellent teacher who was incredibly patient and effortlessly able to meet everyone in the class wherever they were. As the week went on, he seemed to get more comfortable as a teacher. At the end of the week we were chatting and I reminded him of his earlier comments and told him I thought he was a great teacher. He smiled a little and told me that a couple days prior, he walked by our house and heard me practicing ‘Eunice Two-Step’ on the porch. He chuckled, “you were playing it the way I play it, and now, that’s how you’ll always know that song…. That’s pretty cool…” This memory has stuck with me as a reminder that ever rarer than crossing paths with a true musical genius, is to meet one whose genius is matched with their humility and kind nature.
My heart absolutely aches for all our musical pals in Louisiana and beyond who are coping with this devastating loss."
-Andrew Heist, musician, President of the Alaska Folk Festival

I remember Brass Bed talking about him years before we met or made records together. The respect and reverence in their tone was understood. Working with Feufollet in the studio showed me why.
He was a one in million musician; great at just about any instrument you put in front of him. His playing was so effortless because it was a pure extension of himself. He played like he was: instinctive, observant, humorous, sensitive and deep.
He taught me so much about his world of music and I am forever indebted. Lafayette is such a special place and I know supporting the Chris Stafford Memorial Foundation will help lift up the vast talent in the community."
-Danny Reisch, Producer, Recording engineer

Feufollet was my gateway into the beautiful world of Cajun music. A culture, people, and place that has embraced me- an Alabama boy with a funny name- with so much love. I loved that Chris and Phillipe used to call me “Cajun Jim.” Feufollet is a big part of why I made a home in Acadiana.
So many wonderful memories and musical excursions with Chris Stafford. I particularly cherish our last late night conversations about life, love, and relationships rooming together on our last tour, not knowing that would be the last.
You were a light in this world. A true musical genius that just understood the inner workings of music- understood its power, soul and essence. I loved your playing- on every instrument you touched- soulful, honest, and authentic. Feufollet was your baby, and I was so glad to be a part of it. I was honored to be a part of your world and life and mine will never truly be the same without you.
The future is uncertain, but the past is rich with so many memories that I know we will all carry with us and you will bleed from our hearts and hands as we continue on creating music that will continue to heal, empower, and enrich the lives of all who feel and share it.
I will miss you dearly my friend. I love you.”
Jim Kolacek, musician, Feufollet

He spoke directly, he shared his love openly and generously, and he created freely with a clarity of vision that astounded all those who got to experience working with him.
Pythagoras said that “the highest goal of music is to connect one’s soul to their divine nature, not entertainment”, and I have to have a little, albeit sad, chuckle when I read that quote remembering the lanky, sassy goofball that it seems to sum up pretty well. Onstage he connected to the music and to the band in this magically powerful and deeply knowledgeable way that made him an essential pillar of any group, even if he was just sitting in.
Our musical community will forever remain wounded and wobbly without him there supporting us onstage or off.”
- Joel Savoy, musician, producer & recording engineer

Chris Stafford’s impact was immense...He is lauded as one of the Cajun music greats but he transcended it.
We talk about his musical prowess but it was his humor that we felt.
He bended genres effortlessly and always landed the plane.
He had it all - style, chops, taste, heart, groove, swagger, poise, polish, flare - but none of the grandeur.
I ran sound at Blue Moon from 2008-2012 - a pivotal moment in Lafayette’s musical history.
It was ground zero during the peak of that particular musical renaissance.
I attribute so much of my life’s journey to this time.
I had found my place. Staff was so deeply a part of that place.
We became contemporaries, collaborators, competitors.
Best of all, friends.
He inspired me to transcend the fundamentals of my craft, to forget about the instrument and equipment.
To focus on the moment and the people you are creating the moment with - and for.
We will not be the same after this.
Our trees are uprooted. Roofs blown to bits.
We will rebuild, no doubt.
But the devastation will be felt for as long as we breathe.”
- Aaron Thomas, recording engineer and producer

The American Folklife Center is devastated to hear of the death of Chris Stafford in a car accident at about 10:00 this morning, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Chris was only 36. Chris was a founder member of the Cajun band Feufollet, as well as a Grammy-nominated singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. A prodigious talent, he could play all the instruments required for a Cajun, Creole, rock, or Americana band, from accordion and fiddle, to bass and drums, to guitar and banjo, and on to keyboards and pedal steel. In addition to Feufollet, Chris was a member of many bands, including Cedric Watson and Bijou Creole, Racines (featuring Steve Riley), and the Viatones. When not performing or playing studio sessions, Chris ran his own recording studio in downtown Lafayette. He was a powerful force on the South Louisiana music scene.
Chris had many connections to the American Folklife Center. Two first cousins of Chris's great-grandfather, Jesse and Samuel Stafford, sang some iconic old French-language songs for Library of Congress collectors John and Alan Lomax when the pair visited Louisiana in 1934, and those original recordings remain in our archive. With Feufollet and other bands, Chris made use of these family recordings as well as other selections from the Lomax collection, creating modern Cajun-Americana arrangements of archival classics.
Chris visited us in person a number of times over the years. In 2006, he came to Washington with his brother Michael, his friend Chris Segura, Josh Caffery, and other members of Feufollet, to visit the Center and hear his family recordings; he was 18 at the time. In 2011, we featured him with Feufollet on the cover of our magazine Folklife Center News, in which we included Feufollet's recording of "Ouvre la Porte" as a significant modern arrangement of one of our archival treasures. Most recently, Chris visited as a member of the Cedric Watson Trio, playing Creole and Cajun music in the Homegrown concert series.
The American Folklife Center extends our condolences to Chris Stafford's family, his many bandmates and friends, and the admirers and audience members he touched with his music."
- The American Folklife Center

Knowing Staff since he was a small child- there was no one more kind, more capable, more soulful, more simply brilliant on anything he wanted to play. I’ve never known anyone more good or more valuable. Losing him is unimaginable.”
David Greely, musician, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys

I always felt like it was so easy to connect with Staff musically and creatively - but then again he could probably have musically connected with a garfish or a fence post if he had wanted to. If most musicians are like a single use device, like a screwdriver, he was like a highly sentient octopus with a multi-tool or two, always able to find a way to add to what was going on and find a way to make it special. He also had a deep and humane intelligence and a fabulous dry wit. He was a gentle soul as we all know, though let it be said he also had an extremely fine-tuned filter for detecting bullshit, and I loved this about him-even and especially when he did me the favor of using it on me! He was like our sweet and curious kid musical brother...until he eventually became better than any of us.”
-Dr. Joshua Caffery, Director of The Center for Louisiana Studies at the University of Louisiana, musician, Feufollet

...he was in his early teens. From that moment on, I looked up to him. I loved him with all of my heart. Today is impossible.”
-Rex Moroux, musician, singer & songwriter

THE IMMEASURABLE IMPACT OF CHRISTOPHER

VIEW FULL QUOTES BELOW BY CLICKING ARROWS