Tab Benoit is a Cajun man who’s definitely got the blues. Born November 17, 1967, he grew up in Houma, Louisiana. A guitar player since his teenage years, he hung out at the Blues Box, a ramshackle music club and cultural center in nearby Baton Rouge run by guitarist Tabby Thomas. Playing guitar alongside Thomas, Raful Neal, Henry Gray and other high-profile regulars at the club, Benoit learned the blues first-hand from a faculty of living blues legends.
 
The nightly impromptu gigs were enough to inspire Benoit to assemble his own band – a stripped down bass-and-drums unit propelled by his solid guitar skills and leathery, Cajun-spiced vocal attack. He took his show on the road in the early ‘90s and hasn’t stopped since.
 
Benoit landed a recording contract with the tiny, Texas-based Justice Records and released a series of well-received recordings, beginning in 1992 with Nice and Warm, an album that prompted comparisons to blues guitar heavyweights like Albert King, Albert Collins and even Jimi Hendrix. Despite the hype, Benoit has done his best over the years to maintain a commitment to his Cajun roots – a goal that often eluded him when past producers and promoters tried to turn him and his recordings in a rock direction, often against his better instincts. These Blues Are All Mine, released on Vanguard in 1999 after Justice folded, marked a return to the rootsy sound that he’d been steered away from for several years.
 
That same year, he appeared on Homesick for the Road, a collaborative album on the Telarc label with fellow guitarists Kenny Neal and Debbie Davies. Homesick not only served as a showcase for three relatively young but clearly rising stars in the blues constellation, but also launched Benoit’s relationship with Telarc that came to fruition in 2002 with the release of Wetlands – arguably the most authentically Cajun installment in his entire ten-year discography.
 
On Wetlands, Benoit mixes original material like the autobiographical “When a Cajun Man Gets the Blues” and the driving “Fast and Free” with little-known classics like Li’l Bob & the Lollipops’ “I Got Loaded,” Professor Longhair’s “Her Mind Is Gone” and Otis Redding’s timeless “These Arms of Mine” (Tab’s vocal style has long been influenced by Redding).
 
Later in 2002, Benoit released Whiskey Store, a collaborative recording with fellow axemaster and Telarc labelmate Jimmy Thackery. Also along for the ride on Whiskey Store are harpist Charlie Musselwhite and Double Trouble – the two-man rhythm section of bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton that backed Stevie Ray Vaughn on his brief but luminous blues career.
 
After a prolific first year with Telarc, Benoit continued to explore the bayou backbeat in 2003 with the June release of Sea Saint Sessions, a collection of gritty, cajun-flavored tracks recorded at Big Easy Recording Studio (better known among musicians in the region as Sea Saint Studio) in New Orleans. In addition to Benoit and his regular crew – bassist Carl Dufrene and drummer Darryl White – Sea Saint Sessions includes numerous guest appearances by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Cyril Neville, Brian Stoltz and George Porter.
 
That same year, Benoit and Thackery took their dueling guitar show on the road and recorded a performance at the Unity Centre for Performing Arts in Unity, Maine. The result is Whiskey Store Live, a high-energy guitar fest released in February 2004.
 
Benoit returned in 2005 with Fever for the Bayou, a straightened Louisiana blues recording that seamlessly merges his own songcraft with that of Elmore James, Buddy Guy and other masters. Fever for the Bayou also includes guest appearances by Cyril Neville (vocals and percussion) and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (vocals).
 
Benoit dug further into his roots in 2006 with the April release of Brother to the Blues, a recording that encompasses not only his trademark cajun blues but also traditional country and vintage R&B. Joining him on the project are members of the cult blues/R&B/rock combo Louisiaina LeRoux, veteran country songwriter Billy Joe Shaver, Americana pioneer Jim Lauderdale and cajun fiddler Waylon Thibodeaux.
 
Benoit’s Power of the Pontchartrain, released in June 2007, was is in many ways a musical tribute to the natural beauty of his homeland and the dedication and perseverance of those who still live there. An environmental activist as well as a stellar blues musician, Benoit has made the preservation of the endangered delta wetlands his personal crusade. He serves as president of Voice of the Wetlands, an environmental organization he co-founded in 2003, and he appeared prominently in Hurricane on the Bayou, a 2006 documentary by filmmaker McGillivray Freeman that chronicles life in Louisiana after Katrina. Hurricane on the Bayou played in IMAX theaters in the U.S., Canada and Europe throughout 2007.

Grammy Award winning New Orlean’s Neville Brother Cyril Neville has been called a philosopher, poet, and one of the last great southern soul singers. In 1970 he released his debut solo single, “Gossip” b/w “Tell Me What’s On Your Mind,” which included backing music by brother Art’s new outfit, the Meters. It just so happened at this time that the Meters were looking to expand their lineup, and asked Cyril to join in on vocals and percussion contributing to the classic Meter’s albums such as 1972′s Cabbage Alley and 1975′s Fire on the Bayou. Later that year, The Rolling Stones invited the Meters to support the bands World Tour and Mick and Keith wouldn’t have it any other way “you guys should come on tour with us with Cyril as your singer.” is how it was put to the Meters who obliged.
 
Cyril has co-written songs with Bono of U2, Taj Mahal, Daniel Lanois, to name a few and was the one that Lanois credits as the musical catalyst that led to the Neville’s Grammy Award winning record ‘YELLOW MOON.” Most recently he has fronted and sang for New Orleans Funk band Galactic, the Voice of the Wetlands All-stars, The Neville Brothers, and continues to do shows with his own group Tribe 13. His most resent television have been on 2011′s episode of Jimmie Kimmel LIVE and HBO’s hit series “Treme.” Cyril is featured on recordings by Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Dr. John, Tab Benoit, Edie Brickell, Willie Nelson, plus many more. He has performed all over the world including the infamous Amnesty International tour with U2 and the Police and has sung for Nelson Mandela. There is no doubt that with in the first few vocal notes it is easy to tell that musical royalty runs deep in Cyril’s blood and he remains a percussionist to be reckoned with.
 
Artist photo by Derek Bridges

Johnny Vidacovich has risen to national treasure status over his 4 decade career. Born and raised in New Orleans LA, he is a founding member of the world renowned contemporary jazz consortium Astral Project. He has played and/or recorded with such luminaries as Professor Longhair, George Porter Jr., Dr. John, Skerik and John Scofield. He is also a highly regarded teacher and educator whose past students include Stanton Moore and Brian Blade. He has been a longtime faculty member at Loyola University and the University of New Orleans. Johnny and his wife Deborah maintain the Tipitina’s Sunday music workshops where younger students can come play with the pros on Sundays at Tip’s. Johnny played the first and every New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (which just celebrated its 40th anniversary) and has become a fixture on the New Orleans music scene. He has 4 records under his own name and an instructional book and DVD focusing on his approach to New Orleans drumming. He continues to maintain an active playing, touring and teaching schedule and is currently busy touring with the TRIO and Voice of the Wetlands Allstars
 
Artist photo by Derek Bridges

The New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian phenomenon is part music, part heritage, part ancestry, part revelry, part fashion, and oft misunderstood. Chief Monk Boudreaux is one of the most famous and enduring leaders of that culture and head of the Golden Eagle Mardi Gras Indian tribe. He admitted that he shared those feelings of confusion related to those traditions that he embraced long before he fully grasped them.
 
“My dad used to mask as an Indian,” he recalled. “We would get up at 4 o’clock in the morning, help him make his dress, watch him when he’d leave, stay out there, and wait for him to come back. As I got older, I started wondering why he was doing that. I never asked, but I knew there had to be a reason.
 
“Then I started building up my own Indian suit. I was 12 years old. My dad had stopped, so I went with another tribe. I was chief scout the first year. The second year I was spyboy. It’s a feeling you can’t explain, because it’s something deep inside of you.”
 
Boudreaux noted that his elders never spoke of the history of their traditions. “The older people didn’t talk about it. They were scared that if someone found out they were Indians, they would send them off to the reservations. Mardi Gras day was the only day that you could come out and be who you really were. My grandmother—my mother’s mom—she was on her dying bed. She called mom and said, ‘Tell Joseph not to leave until I get there.’ That’s when she told me we were Choctaw Indians. I was 27 or 28 years old at that time. Then I knew why I was doing it.”
 
Indeed, the history of the Mardi Gras Indian culture in New Orleans is complex, and accounts of its origins are sometimes inconsistent. An affinity shared between Native American and African American people, both of whom were enslaved and persecuted at various times in the city’s history, was clearly a driving force in those origins and the mixing of their cultures. Both ethnic groups also share an appreciation of tradition, and the unique New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian music, costumes, and rituals are a melding of influences from both cultures.
 
Continue reading on Big Chief Monk’s website

Native to the Bayou DuLarge in Theriot Louisiana,the Woods and Swamps were my friends.I started on sax in grade school then moved on to bass as a freshman in jazz ensamble.I then started to work in the local bars and venues at age 15.Weeding through quite a few local bands I found myself on the road touring the world with accordion player Chubby Carrier in 1995 till 2009. Now you can catch me with longtime friend Tab Benoit. The call of the Blues was to strong.I still manage to work in Houma check the Myspace for up and coming shows.I am working on music every day so check me out from time to time and drop a line! Thanks to Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band for 14 great years,that experience has helped make the musician I am today.

From New Orleans to the world Johnny is known for his blistering electric harmonica tone, Award winning song writing, Swamp, Roots, Americana Accordion and Larger then Life stage presence. Johnny’s music career has brought him from his early professional years backing up Chicago blues legends, Jimmy Rodgers, Robert Jr Lockwood, John Lee Hooker. To fronting Ronnie Earl’s Broadcasters in the 1980’s .In the 1990’s he was in the front seat to help pioneer the new brand of roots music that was brewing up in New Orleans with bands like the Iguana’s, Anders Osborne and the Subdudes. Now after a Grammy nomination. Nine Blues Music award nomination (winning song of the year 2012) .A Juno Award Fifteen Best of the Beat awars, Seven Big easy awards, Johnny continues to forge forward on world wide tours with his band , As a solo artist and as a member of New Orleans super group The Voice of The Wetlands All Stars featuring the leading legends of New Orleans music , including Dr John, Cyril Neville, Tab Benoit. From playing with The Edge of U2, To Recording Changui music in Santiago Cuba with Alto sax great Jane Bunnett, To backing up Americas greatest song writer Randy Newman, Film scores for Rodger Coreman, HBO’s Treme and countess other sessions, Johnny continues to show no limit to his life’s work and love of music.

Waylon Thibodeaux is a young Cajun with an innate musical talent that can be seen in the performance of his Louisiana, Cajun and Zydeco music. His style of high-energy, toe-tapping music will certainly liven up any audience.
 
Waylon began playing professionally at the age of thirteen. He has had the opportunity to perform with nationally and internationally renowned musicians and groups, including Tony Orlando, Jimmy C. Newman, BeauSoleil, Jo-El Sonnier, Wayne Toups, and Bruce Daigrepont, Randy Newman, The Voice of the Wetlands Allstars.

feat. Jimmy Carpenter (Walter Wolfman) and Scott Sutherland (Tommy Castro)
 
Mike Zito official site

 
What the Critics say…….
 
…his fiery Strat playing elevates each and every song, as do the swallow-your-emotions vocals. –Vintage Guitar
 
…one of the finest, most creative musicians on the competitive blues-roots scene. –Blues Revue Magazine
 
His music flows into the veins and moves the body in ways that can only be described as free and wild… –Jazz Times