Stanley Dural Jr. used to hate zydeco music. He hated its featured instrument, the accordion.

It was his father's music, his father's instrument. Dural was a Hammond B3 organ man into heavy funk, R&B, jazz and blues. Then he took a gig with "The King of Zydeco," Clifton Chenier. Soon, he learned to love his father's music. He discovered that in some respects, it was like the big band music he had been playing.

"Working with him over two years ... it was so energetic."

Courtesy photo | Rick Olivier

Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural

Courtesy photo | Tobin Voggesser

J.J. Grey

Nowadays, Dural is better known as Buckwheat Zydeco, and after 30 years of spreading the swamp boogie, he's earned the rights to that stage moniker. Just this week, Dural received a Living Blues magazine readers award nomination for best live performer. In May, he released his Alligator Records debut, "Lay Your Burden Down," an album packed with roots music stars yet still full of Dural's accordion and organ playing, all steamy like a Louisiana swamp.

Hear the band and the music Saturday at Floyd Fandango Beer & Wine Fest, at the FloydFest site.

In an interview last week, Dural said he likes how things are going.

"I'm always taking it up to a different level, [finding] a challenge in anything, keeping the roots there, where I come from," he said. "I can take it to different levels, but you always remember the roots of it."

Take the first cut from "Lay Your Burden Down," a hotly reworked version of Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks," featuring the transcendent slide guitar player Sonny Landreth. Dural matches Landreth's six-string intensity with some ripping B3 work and gutbucket singing.

And yes, it's about Hurricane Katrina and other storms that have torn into the Gulf Coast over the years. But Dural is quick to note that the song ends with a double-speed party vibe.

"Once you're sad, you can be happy again," he said.

Landreth is one of many high-quality performers on the record, produced by Los Lobos' Steve Berlin. Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews plays trombone, joining Berlin (baritone sax) to make a hip horn section. Warren Haynes sits in on a cut, as does J.J. Grey, who with his band Mofro headlines Saturday's festivities.

"It's always a blessing to me to perform with gifted artists like that," he said. "We feed off of one another, you know, the vibe."

As for Grey, "I think we're gonna hook up," Dural said. "I hope we're gonna hook up. Good people. Good music. That's what brings people together -- and loving what you do."

Go to this story at roanoke.com/entertainment to hear a podcast with Dural, including songs from "Lay Your Burden Down."

Floyd Fandango Beer & Wine Fest

With J.J. Grey & Mofro, Buckwheat Zydeco, Robert Jospe Sextet, Basshound, Beleza Brazil, Dangermuffin, Blue Mule and more

Details: 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. FloydFest site, near Floyd. floydfest.com, mofro.net, buckwheatzydeco.com, robertjospe.com