Reading Blues Fest opening night headliner Tab Benoit keeps it real
Nov. 13—Louisiana blues guitarist Tab Benoit is the living embodiment of what you see is what you get, and because of that, what you hear is who he is.
Benoit, who headlines the Reading Blues Fest Opening Night Celebration Party on Friday with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, said it is too much trouble to be anyone else, so he decided decades ago that he would only be authentic and honest. He's made a career of just that.
That is also why he does not have a set list, does not rehearse a show and prefers his shows to be a conversation with the audience in that moment.
"I play what I'm feeling," he said. "I always just play in the moment and let the rest take care of itself."
He said that's one of the reasons he likes the genre. It has roots in authenticity.
"I think the blues world is more open to being in the moment," Benoit said. "The songs don't have to be written the same way or sung the same way. It's always worked that way — before me and after me."
Benoit's career has always been guided by his gut as much as his talent.
During college he took a stab at stand-up while getting his pilot's license and working in the family business.
Comedy was good for a college kid, he said — "I got paid and free drinks," he said — and flying was good for a weekend musician.
"It was a good job," he said, "but eventually my weekend job just took over."
He didn't plan it that way.
"People just kept asking me to play more and I just kept giving into it more," he said. "I'm still thinking that, well, they're going to get tired of me one day, but they haven't."
It is his way of honoring both his talent and his audience. He said following their lead has made him a better performer and has created unique moments in shows.
He first hit the stage in the 1980s at Tabby Thomas' Blues Box in Baton Rouge, La., when he was a teen sitting in with blues legends Thomas and Raful Neal.
By the early 1990s, he had a record deal with Justice Records, releasing his debut album, "Nice and Warm," in 1993.
Touring has always been essential to both his soul and his style, so years on the road together with 18 albums and a shelf full of awards (including two BB King Entertainer of the Year wins from the Blues Music Awards) has kept him on stages across the country for more than three decades.
"This is all I got," he said. "I play it hard and I play it as honest as possible."
Benoit said he feels the vibe of the audience and launches into a conversation with them. It's a conversation that will at times bare his vulnerability, his humor and his party side, all with guitar play that speaks for itself.
He wants others to join in this mission of authenticity, too.
Benoit founded Whiskey Bayou Records, a label that he says seeks artists who want to have the same authenticity that drives him. Included on his roster are Big Chief Mo Boudreaux, Eric Johanson and Alastair Greene. Benoit produces and tours with some of the musicians.
"I want to make sure that other artists are treating the music the same way I feel," he said. "It's OK to make mistakes in the music. I don't want to fix it digitally. It might irk you, but you are going to feel that way with every take. But that is who you are in that moment."
He said it's sometimes hard to hear.
"It makes you uncomfortable because it's like looking at yourself in the mirror and saying this is the honest me," he said. "I am happy with that and just let (the audience) decide if they like the honest you."
Benoit said not to expect another album (his last was about a decade ago) from him in the near future and, not surprisingly, he doesn't think much about that future anyway.
Right now he loves performing live and working with other artists in his studio, producing quality, honest music.
"If I feel like I want to do it, I will," he said of a future album. "But I will know when it's time."
He is very satisfied with his life and music and doesn't sweat the small stuff.
At the moment that means he needs to grab groceries to make some gumbo on the tour bus and rest before his time on the stage.
"When you improvise your way through life, things don't freak you out," he said. "I just do the best with who I am."
If you go
Event: Reading Blues Fest Opening Night Celebration featuring Tab Benoit with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Grand Ballroom of the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, Reading
Tickets: $59