TEXT AND PHOTOS: TRENT DUNBAR | The 2016 T-Bois Blues Festival took place March 17-19, on a small crawfish and alligator farm in Larose, Louisiana. Featuring camping, food, beer, and some of the best blues artists from across the south and nationally, T-Bois is an experience like no other. Known as the “Cajun Burning Man,” this year’s burn included a wooden hoop adorned with the NOLA Brewing logo, three giant teepee bonfires, and the classic T-Bois burn—a giant guitar-playing gator named Al that shot flames out of its mouth as the fire roared up through its body.
This year’s lineup included numerous new acts for me including the Jason Ricci Band, the Ben Miller Band, Jonathan “Boogie” Long (pictured at top and below) and The Congress, in addition to old favorites like the Lost Bayou Ramblers (photo below jump) , the Colin Lake Band, and Anders Osborne.
The Jason Ricci Band was the first act I was able to see after I was done wrestling my tent into submission at my campsite. Jason Ricci makes no secret of his affinity for punk rock. From his look to his tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating jokes told between songs, Ricci knows how to draw the audience in and keep them invested. In addition to being a talented vocalist, Ricci plays impressive harmonica.
Frequently making use of guitar effect pedals, Ricci’s playing covered everything from pure noise to a classical piece played at a blistering speed before launching right into the next song.
During the set, Ricci and his band covered a Slim Harpo tune in addition to an on-point rendition of Lou Reed’s “Take a Walk on the Wild Side,” perfectly rounded out by Ricci’s rough, yet powerful vocals.
The Ben Miller Band brought a slightly different sound to T-Bois Friday afternoon. Although very much a blues band, their sound draws heavily from the folk and bluegrass tool bags. Although their set did not feature wailing, overdriven guitar solos like most of the bands during the weekend, it still had a gritty rhythmic pulse that got people moving and stomping their feet.
The band features Miller on lead vocals while playing an assortment of instruments including guitar, slide, banjo, and harmonica. The group also features a washboard player/ percussionist, a washtub bassist, and a violinist.
Going into T-Bois, Nigel Hall was the act I was most excited to see. Hall and crew definitely did not disappoint. Hall’s soulful grooves and incredible vocals provided a stark contrast to the raging storm engulfing the tent we were all huddled in.
Unfortunately for the majority of his set, I was preoccupied with how I was going to manage to get rid of the 4+ inches of rainwater that had found its way into my tent rather than fully enjoying the music. However, Nigel Hall did not disappoint and exceeded expectations, unlike my campsite placement skills, which apparently need a good amount of work.
My favorite new discovery, and possibly favorite act of the weekend was Jonathan “Boogie” Long and his band. Boogie gets what it means to really dive into the roots of the blues. He plays his overdriven guitar loud, each note and bend manifest in his facial expressions.
Boogie is no stranger to showmanship either. His solos and lead lines feature tapping and sweep lines that would not be out of place in the thrash metal scene, yet fit in perfectly with the music. Boogie also seems to love getting up close and personal with his fans, twice jumping down into the audience to solo during Saturday’s set, allowing everyone to crowd around him and stare slack-jawed as he ripped through a blistering solo.
Unfortunately, I picked the set by The Congress to run back to my campsite and grab some crawfish. Damn was that a mistake. Luckily, you can clearly hear all the music across the entire campground and parking lot, so although I did not get to witness The Congress’ set firsthand, I can say that what I heard was damn impressive.
Their sound relies heavily on driving grooves and catchy vocal hooks accented by guitar licks and soaring keyboard parts. Their set also featured a number of covers including one of my personal favorite songs, “One Big Holiday” by My Morning Jacket and a fantastic rendition of “Killing Me Softly” that had everyone singing along.
The Colin Lake Band played right after Al burned Saturday night and rode the waves of excitement coming from the audience. Their set ran down all his well-known songs with a couple of new ones thrown in. The new songs featured all the things that makes Lake great including the deep pocket, soulful vocals and soaring B3 backing complete with Lake’s lead lap slide lines.
Anders Osborne closed out the festival Saturday night. The tent was packed with almost everyone in attendance grooving to Osborne and company’s jams. Like last year, Osborne’s band featured John “Papa” Gros providing backing and accents on keys.
Food and drink at T-Bois is another defining aspect of the festival. Beer from Nola Brewing was flowing almost constantly and featured staple brews like the Blonde, Brown, Hopitoulas, and the Rebirth Pale Ales.
The food was all fresh cooked and switched up every couple of hours. This year’s menu included pastalaya, fresh caught crawfish, and possibly the best fried catfish I have ever had served over some tasty jambalaya.
T-Bois is more than your typical music festival. It’s a group of people from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life coming together to celebrate great food and music while getting close to nature, or in my case, just getting rained on and muddy. There truly is a sense of community at T-Bois that I have yet find at any other festival. And it is not just the festival goers that make the weekend so enjoyable. While watching the musicians play on stage, you get the sense that they enjoy being there and playing as much as anyone in attendance.
During the day, you’re likely to see Colin Lake and bass player Bill Richards milling around with festival attendees. Anders Osborne’s bass counterpart, Carl Dufrene, Jr., was just hanging out on the side of the music tent after his Saturday night set, more than happy to chat with me and anyone walking by about anything and everything.
Bottom line, the T-Bois Blues Festival is a special thing for a lot of different people and I am already counting down the days until next year’s festival.
Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Jacqui Stavis who was killed in a lightning strike Friday night at T-Bois. —Ed.
