Tab Benoit - Cajun Blues

With all the makings of an American music icon, Tab Benoit has become one of the premiere roots stylist of the century. Tab has paid his dues as a road troubadour playing 250 nights a year performing at venues across North America, honing his guitar chops and becoming part of Louisiana folklore and legend.

Way down in the heart of steamy South Louisiana there's a run-down shotgun-style, brick building where magic is known to happen on any given night. Many of the town's people don't venture into the area, but those who do, order from a hand written menu containing such misspelled delicacies as "hot sawsage poboys" and "fried swimps",. After a good, greasy meal, they are treated to the most authentic blues around. It's here at Tabby's Blues Box and Heritage Hall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where Tab Benoit played to gain acceptance among the true blues fans and players of the down and dirty genre, while earning the customary thirteen dollars a night. " We weren't allowed to bring in our own equipment", Tab recalls. "We always just made do with what was there... that's the Blues Box way." Tab Benoit has fond memories of the leaky roof, the outdated PA system (a 1970's bass amplifier), and the appreciative crowd; a mixture of LSU students and neighborhood regulars. But mostly, he remembers a piece of advice from Tabby Thomas, the club's proprietor, who told him, "If you play the blues, you'll always have a job."

Tab Benoit has taken Tabby's advice to heart, maintaining his blues roots while hitting the road--hard. For the past several years he's been performing his own brand of cajun rock 'n blues, night after night, while watching the size of his audience steadily increase. This grueling tour schedule has paid off, as he now plays for standing room only crowds across the country, from major music cities to small town blues bars.

Born in Baton Rouge in November 1967 and raised in the oil and fishing town of Houma, Louisiana (where he lives to this day), Tab Benoit barely remembers learning to play guitar. "I had a book that showed you how to play chords", he said. "After I learned the first three, I got rid of the book."

Since that time, the music has seemed to come naturally to him. He began playing gigs around town -- weddings, local Cajun festivals, and rock and roll shows – anything to make a living and get the chance to play music. For Tab Benoit there was a natural progression from rock 'n roll to the 70's to the Cajun rock 'n blues he now plays since all of these genres are firmly rooted in the blues.

Tab Benoit soon ventured off to New Orleans and met Barbara Becker, commonly known as B.B., and then manager of the Legendary Dr. John. She remembers the days when she would go see Tab Benoit and be the only person in the audience. When Justice Records president called her for a recommendation for an upcoming project, they set up a meeting at a local bowling alley (the now-famous Mid City Lanes - Rock 'n Bowl). Tab Benoit was playing there in a blues jam contest. Even though Benoit came in third, it was his blues that got signed to participate on Justice's "Strike a Deep Chord: Blues Guitars for the Homeless". Everyone was so impressed with Benoit’s contribution, a heartfelt blues number called "Nice and Warm", that they signed him to a multi album deal.

Tab Benoit also struck a deep chord in the television industry, getting several songs placed in prime time shows including Northern Exposure, Melrose Place, and Party of Five. Even the most watched show in the world, Baywatch, chose Tab Benoit to perform (this time on camera) on the premier episode of the spin-off series, Baywatch Nights. Other artists featured on the show include Buddy Guy, B. B. King and Robert Cray.

A long-time wetlands activist, in 2006, Tab Benoit was also honored to appear as one of the stars of “Hurricane on the Bayou,” the Audubon Nature Institute’s first-ever IMAX film, narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep. The film also stars legendary New Orleans music producer, songwriter, and Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Allen Toussaint and Marva Wright, the “Queen of Gospel.”

Even though Tab Benoit has been compared to some of the greatest blues men and guitarists of all time, he doesn't aspire to be the "next" anybody. But there's one thing he does know ...he'll always have a job. That's the Blues Box way.