Meet Megan Brown Constantin, a regional roots singer/musician and cultural activist living in Lafayette, LA, originally from Tepetate, a small community between Eunice and Basile. Megan grew up to the sound of Cajun music at her grandparent’s Cajun restaurant. Singing all her life, she took to Cajun music and with it the French language at the age of 18. In 2010, Megan took Lafayette by storm by completely stealing the show during her first performance at both Festivals Acadiens et Creoles and The Blackpot Festival with a haunting vocal delivery that seemed (as Chas Justus from The Revelers recalled) “like Zeus hurling musical thunderbolts down from Mt Olympus.” Since 2008, Megan has played with many different groups, performing at cultural events locally, nationally, and internationally, but plays regularly with the cajun country trio, T’Monde and congolese rhumba ensemble, Boma Bango.
During the day, she works, full-time, as assistant general manager of KRVS Public Media, Acadiana’s local public radio station on the campus of UL Lafayette. Megan spends her time at KRVS creatively finding ways to promote Acadiana’s diverse music scene on a larger scale than just the station’s FM signal reach, including the launching of a series in September where area musician performances recorded at KRVS will be broadcast monthly on 216 stations across the country via WXPN’s World Cafe. As the station is a small operation with only 3 full-time employees, Megan also spends many hours on membership management, fundraising, producing her own radio show, interviewing local nonprofits, volunteer management, and programming.
Who makes up your art circle?
I work most closely with my husband, Adam to create silly social media content about our kids, my kids Charlie and Mamie singing made up or well known songs throughout our home, and of course, my bandmates/co-workers/students/co-conspirators that include, but are not limited to, Drew Simon, Kelli Jones, Daniel Coolik, Chas Justus, Leah Graeff, Cheryl Devall, Kris Wotipka, Sarah Kramer, Bailey Bourgeois, Cathryn Hanks, Julie Babineaux, Kevin Hilbun, Paige Krause, etc. but my art circle is made up of literally anyone I come in contact with. I don’t look at art as purely visual or auditory in form. I view connections between people that spur artistic endeavors or projects to advance the community as a whole as art…the same way I look at paint on a canvas.
How do you expand your art circle?
I love getting to know people and finding out what they like to spend their time doing, so I can plug them into existing initiatives or introduce them to people, with whom I think they’d collaborate well. Conveniently, at my day job at KRVS Public Media, I have the opportunity to communicate regularly with nonprofit organizers and musicians. I get to know them through on-air interviews and enable them to share their passion for their public service or art to the station’s audience. The more people I get to know, the more connections I can make, the more art and creativity that we, as a community, get to enjoy!.
What value do you see in having a creative community?
Creative communities are incredibly valuable. Sharing perspective through art or public service can ignite a deeper connection between individuals and groups. The opportunity to share, to be seen and heard through artistic or cultural exchanges is incredibly validating to individuals and can spark change, progress and growth to better the collective.
How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?
Hmm…that’s a hard one. Hopefully, I am just spreading joy through musical performances and helping introduce creative, passionate, hard-working people to other creative, passionate, hard-working people who will hopefully collaborate and join the long list of movers and shakers who make Acadiana the best place to live! <3
Our weekly Art Circle series profiles artists throughout the community and is sponsored in part by Lafayette Visitor Enterprise Fund managed by Lafayette Travel
