Live!
Who: Tab Benoit and Louisiana's LeRoux When: 9 p.m. tomorrow Where: State Theatre, Falls Church
Tab Benoit was honored twice at last year's Blues Music Awards in Memphis.
(By Darren Ray)
TOOLBOX   Resize Text
 Save/Share +
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
|
Last May, the Blues Foundation assembled in Memphis for its annual Blues Music Awards ceremony, where guitarist Tab Benoit received two awards, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year and Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year.
A year later, Benoit is making three stops in the Washington region: Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis last night, Baltimore's 8x10 Club tonight and the State Theatre tomorrow.
It has been a busy year for Benoit. Last summer, he performed at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago; he toured relentlessly and made a major musical contribution to "Hurricane on the Bayou," a documentary by McGillivray Freeman about life in Louisiana after Katrina. The film played in IMAX theaters in the United States, Canada and Europe last year.
Benoit, born in 1967, grew up in Houma, La., and has played guitar since his teens, when he was a constant presence at the Baton Rouge Blues Box club. There, he learned his craft by playing alongside living legends. He formed a band and began touring in the early 1990s and has been a road warrior since. But you need not leave your couch to have heard Benoit play: His songs have been used in prime-time TV shows such as "Northern Exposure," "Melrose Place," "Party of Five" and the "Baywatch" spinoff "Baywatch Nights," the premiere for which Benoit was asked to perform on camera.
His recording career began with the small, Texas-based Justice Records in 1992. His debut, "Nice and Warm," earned comparisons to guitar heroes such as Albert King, Albert Collins and even Jimi Hendrix. Although some producers tried to push Benoit in a rock direction, his 1999 Vanguard release, "These Blues Are All Mine," marked a return to the rootsy bayou grooves of his youth, and he hasn't strayed since.
"Power of the Pontchartrain," released last year, is a musical tribute to his homeland and the spirit of those who have persevered there. Known for his environmental activism, Benoit has made preservation of the endangered wetlands a personal crusade as president of Voice of the Wetlands, an organization he co-founded in 2003.
Most recently, Benoit released "Night Train To Nashville," his sixth release for the Telarc label. The 11-track live recording captures Benoit in tandem with a series of guests from the blues, Cajun and country scenes, such as harpist-vocalist Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie), guitarist-vocalist Jim Lauderdale and Fabulous Thunderbirds front man Kim Wilson, at the Place On Second Street in Nashville. Supporting Benoit on that CD and at the State tomorrow will be his longtime New Orleans backup unit, Louisiana's LeRoux.
-- MARIANNE MEYER
The State Theatre is at 220 N. Washington Street in Falls Church. General admission is $16 in advance and $21 at the door, box office or athttp:/
Send your Live! suggestions tomariannemeyer@comcast.net. Please e-mail for the correct mailing address before sending other materials.
