“When you improvise your way through life, things don’t freak you out,” he said. He is very satisfied with his life and music and doesn’t sweat the small stuff.Īt 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. “If I feel like I want to do it, I will,” he said of a future album. Right now he loves performing live and working with other artists in his studio, producing quality, honest music. “I am happy with that and just let (the audience) decide if they like the honest you.”īenoit 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. “It makes you uncomfortable because it’s like looking at yourself in the mirror and saying this is the honest me,” he said. It might irk you, but you are going to feel that way with every take. “I want to make sure that other artists are treating the music the same way I feel,” he said. Benoit produces and tours with some of the musicians. Included on his roster are Big Chief Mo Boudreaux, Eric Johanson and Alastair Greene. He wants others to join in this mission of authenticity, too.īenoit founded Whiskey Bayou Records, a label that he says seeks artists who want to have the same authenticity that drives him. 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. “I play it hard and I play it as honest as possible.”īenoit said he feels the vibe of the audience and launches into a conversation with them. 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. 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.īy the early 1990s, he had a record deal with Justice Records, releasing his debut album, “Nice and Warm,” in 1993. He said following their lead has made him a better performer and has created unique moments in shows. It is his way of honoring both his talent and his audience. “I’m still thinking that, well, they’re going to get tired of me one day, but they haven’t.” “People just kept asking me to play more and I just kept giving into it more,” he said. “It was a good job,” he said, “but eventually my weekend job just took over.”
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