TEXT: TRENT DUNBAR | Located only an hour outside of New Orleans on an alligator and crawfish farm in the heart of Cajun Country, the T-Bois Blues Festival is a primitive camping festival featuring 23 mainly New Orleans-based bands over 3 days. The full schedule is here.
T-Bois is scheduled on a prime weekend during Louisiana’s peak spring festival season and is filled with great food, even better music, and practically unlimited beer, culminating with the burning of a giant wooden alligator and various other effigies.
If that isn’t enough, let the NOLA Burner Village located on the edge of the campground draw you in with their flashing lights, wild art installations like the fire-breathing MechaGator, and near constant pulse of electronic music. Here are just a few of the groups I am looking forward to seeing this weekend.
Nigel Hall, a New Orleans newcomer and very welcome addition, will bring his laid back style to T-Bois Friday night. His soulful grooves are sure to have everyone getting down all across the campground.
Lost Bayou Ramblers are set to play as the sun goes down Saturday afternoon. Their foot stomping blend of Cajun, zydeco, and folk with a decidedly punk attitude will set the tone for the antics to follow later in the night.
The Colin Lake Band, a T-Bois mainstay, will take the stage after dark and kick the evening into full swing with his signature lap steel and soulful blues rounded out by keys and horn section accents.
Anders Osborne and the burning of the massive wooden alligator will close out Saturday night’s festivities. I can honestly say that Anders was my favorite act from T-Bois 2015. Taking the stage pretty much in the middle of the night, Osborne and friends eschewed normal song structure and lyrics in favor of jams that seemed to go on forever, culminating with screaming guitar solos and flashy drum fills.
As with any festival, there are too many acts to possibly mention, but I look forward giving y’all a full rundown next week when I emerge from T-Bois quite possibly hung over, but almost certainly muddy, sunburnt, and ready for T-Bois 2017.
