Young musician entertains those stranded on highway during traff - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

LeeAnn Law is 19-years-old and was, for a moment, the main entertainment for some stranded motorists on I-10 E headed towards Baton Rouge as the whole highway was shutdown in both directions for hours on Wednesday night. 

What Law did in this situation was both unusual and brilliant at the same time. “I was probably there for about an hour and a half before I realized I had to turn off my car to save gas. So I thought, 'I’m stuck here with nothing to do but sit in the car.' Then I remembered my fiddle was in the back.”

Law was carrying her violin because it's a major part of her life right now. “I was actually on the way back from work. I work at a violin shop in Lafayette
where I go to school. I go to school at UL. I was on my way home from school for Spring Break.“

When a fatal wreck caused a major traffic jam, Law went into action. “So I saw all the traffic and thought, 'I’m gonna' be here a long time.' I called my parents, told them I was stuck in traffic and would be a while.”

Law pulled out her violin, tuned it, and started to play. She sat in her car, but with the windows down, she could be heard for a wide area around her. Traffic would be a standstill for about six hours. But Law didn’t let the trapped feeling kill the mood. She played songs she likes, music that was fun to listen to. She says other drivers told her how much it kept them in good spirits. One woman said her children were fascinated.

It turns out Law is from a musical family, and music is a big part of her life. “I play Cajun music. I’m in school for music ed and I play classical music there, and I grew up in a Cajun family on my mom’s side. I played with my family for my mom. Mom is Christine Guidry Law. Me and her started playing together and then my dad and my twin brother joined us, so we have a family band that performs. We’re 'Chere Mom.'"

Law also performs with another band. “We’re called ‘The Pas Bon Playboys.' I play mostly in Lafayette area, around Acadiana and stuff like that.”

Law is also a marching and maneuvering expert for Central High School’s band. “I teach marching techniques and if they have any choreography that the band does. I do that for Central High School. I didn’t go there. I attended Zachary High. I was a drum major there for three years."

Law has also marched in a drum and bugle corps. Working in Lafayette at a violin shop, attending UL-Lafayette, and teaching Central High Band how to march is a lot on a young person’s schedule. Law answers with enthusiasm, “I am 19-years-old. It’s not too much stress. I learned how to balance it all. I enjoy what I do. It’s not so much the stress, it’s just so I don’t die of boredom.”

Because cell phone batteries died during the traffic jam, Law says there’s no recording of her interstate performance, but this is the post she put on her Facebook page after the ordeal ended.

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