Tab Benoit

This show is sponsored by mega blues fans Doug & Sue Petersen.  Thanks for the support!

Tickets cost $35, $46 and $54 (including all service charges). Tickets are available from the NHCC Box Office (in person and by phone - (505) 724-4771).

One of the most impressive guitarists to emerge from the rich Bayous of Southern Louisiana in recent years, Tab Benoit's guitar tone can be recognized before his Otis-Redding-ish voice resonates from the speakers. He doesn't rely on any effects and his set up is simple. It consists of a guitar, cord, and Category 5 Amplifier. The effects that you hear come from his fingers.

Born on November 17, 1967, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Benoit grew up in the nearby oil and fishing town of Houma, where he still resides today. Musically, he was exposed early on to traditional Cajun waltzes and the country music broadcast on his hometown's only radio station. Benoit's father was himself a musician; as such, the family home was filled with various instruments. He began playing drums but switched to guitar because the only gigs to be had in rural Louisiana were held in churches and at church fairs, and organizers would not allow loud drums to be played at these events.

In 1992 Benoit released his first recording, Nice and Warm, on the Justice label. The title track became a AAA Radio hit and Benoit’s touring career kicked into high gear. Nice and Warm prompted comparisons to blues guitar heavyweights like Albert King, Albert Collins and even Jimi Hendrix. Tab began playing two-hundred and fifty shows a year, a schedule he has kept up for over twenty years.

His latest release, I Hear Thunder, features ten solid tracks that showcase Tab's original guitar style and the great songwriting of the Benoit / Anders Osborne songwriting team. Benoit does more than just play the blues; he defines its future while paying homage to its rich past. I Hear Thunder is a must for roots music fans.

Since 2018, GA-20 has been at the forefront of a traditional Blues revival. The dynamic throwback trio have long been disciples of the place where traditional Blues, Country and Rock 'n' Roll intersect. "We make records that we would want to listen to," says guitarist Matthew Stubbs. "It's our take on the song-based traditional electric Blues we love." Stubbs, along with guitarist & vocalist Cody Nilsen and drummer Josh Kiggans, strives to bring traditional Blues to the front lines of the modern roots music scene.

GA-20 has drawn inspiration for their old-school sounds from the music they love from artists such as Otis Rush, J.B. Lenoir, Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells, Hound Dog Taylor, Earl Hooker, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson and so many others. Performing with what feels like reckless abandon, GA-20 brings a timeless immediacy to every song they play with a sound that continues to grow and evolve. The band uses vintage instruments and amps to produce their authentic sound, and favours traditional recording techniques, like recording live off the floor, together in one room, to help recreate that energy and sonic connection.