Tab Benoit

Tab Benoit, born November 17, 1967, in Houma, Louisiana, maintains his residence near New Orleans and has established himself as a singer, guitarist, and dedicated environmental preservationist. He first surfaced on the Southern blues circuit during the early 1990s, where his Cajun-inflected blues-rock approach earned global attention through the 1992 release Nice & Warm along with three additional Justice Records albums. After moving to Telarc, he issued the 2002 collaboration Whiskey Store alongside Jimmy Thackery and his solo effort Wetlands, a blues reflection on the intricate and threatened landscape of southern Louisiana. Critics have likened his singing to the timbre of Otis Redding, while his guitar work channels the styles of Albert Collins, Albert King, and Jimi Hendrix. The 2003 album The Sea Saint Sessions assembled an all-star roster featuring Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Brian Stoltz, Cyril Neville, and George Porter, Jr., alongside Benoit’s core trio. International audiences embraced 2007’s Power of the Pontchartrain, and 2011’s Medicine, which contained eleven tracks co-produced with Anders Osborne and seven songs co-written by the pair, captured three Blues Music awards while selling out venues and igniting festival stages wherever it was performed.

Throughout the 1990s and into the following decade, Benoit promoted each release through relentless touring across the United States, Canada, and Europe, recognizing that blues rarely receives airplay on high-wattage commercial rock stations. His Justice catalog further encompasses What I Live For from 1994, Standing on the Bank from 1995, and Live: Swampland Jam from 1997. Additional Telarc projects include These Blues Are All Mine in 1999, the live document Whiskey Store Live recorded with Thackery in 2004, Fever for the Bayou in 2005, and 2006’s Brother to the Blues recorded with Louisiana’s Leroux. Subsequent Leroux collaborations yielded Night Train to Nashville in 2008. Despite fiery Telecaster solos and commanding songwriting, Benoit maintains a relaxed, approachable demeanor away from the stage that contrasts sharply with his high-energy performances; he has stated in interviews his intention to “stay the course” without diluting his blues.

Longstanding efforts to safeguard Louisiana’s wetlands and vulnerable coastal zones prompted a thirteen-year recording hiatus after Medicine. During this interval he established the Voice of the Wetlands organization to spotlight the shrinking coastal areas and opened Tab Benoit’s Lagniappe Music Cafe in downtown Houma, while continuing local and regional live work. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival documented two of his performances there, releasing them in 2016 and 2017. In August 2024 he reentered the studio with I Hear Thunder on his own Whiskey Bayou imprint, self-producing the thirteen-track set alongside his touring rhythm section of bassist Corey Duplechin and drummer Terence Higgins. He renewed his creative alliance with Osborne, who contributed guitar to every song, while George Porter, Jr. appeared on seven selections.