The Sundogs - Bon Temps Noel: Swamp Beat Christmas (1999)

Foot stompin', zydeco-inflected Bay Area band presents an album of holiday music, featuring special guests Maria Muldaur & the Solar Canine Horns.

San Francisco-based swamp rockers the Sundogs were led by violinist Tom Rigney, an alumnus of Queen Ida's Bon Temps Zydeco Band and Back in the Saddle. After mounting a solo career with 1989's Rigo, he formed the Sundogs with singer/rubboardist Joe Paquin, guitarist T.J. Politzer, bassist John Aughney and drummer Jimmy Hobson; introducing their fusion of rock, zydeco and blues on 1992's Howlin', the group resurfaced two years later with To the Bone. 1997's Heavy Petting earned "Cajun Record of the Year" honors from Cajun Times, and was followed a year later by Dancing Room Only; a seasonal EP, Bon Temps Noel: A Swamp Beat Christmas, appeared in 1999. ~ Jason Ankeny