The accordion is a "squeezebox" that creates a sound when a musician squeezes air out of the “bellows” across reeds. Accordions vary in construction but all have buttons or keys, much like a piano keyboard, that the accordionist uses to play the melody.

The first accordions appeared in the earliest 20th century in Germany, Austria and Russia and quickly became a staple of several genres of folk music. Portable and versatile, this "people's instrument" traveled readily with European emigrants as they settled worldwide.

"The golden age of the accordion" in the United States lasted from 1900 until approximately 1960, when popular rock and roll bands that favored guitars became all the rage. The accordion never fell out of favor in traditional music though, both in Europe, where accordionists lead ensembles that perform in almost every folk genre, and in the U.S. where Cajun and Zydeco accordions thrive.