Renowned Louisiana guitarist Tab Benoit Rocks the Ryman, along with Very Special Guest, Samantha Fish, with a socially-distanced, in-concert performance at the Historic Ryman Auditorium, 116 Fifth Avenue North, Friday, November 6. 116 Fifth Avenue North, Nashville. Showtime: 8:00pm. Tickets: $89.-$129. (Live-stream tickets also available for $12.). Info: (615) 889-3060 or visit https://ryman.com/event/tab-benoit.
Benoit received a Grammy nomination in 2006 for his musical tribute to Blues and Country music on the album, Brother to the Blues. The title track was a George Jones cover. The legendary country singer is one of Tab’s favorites. The Houma, Louisiana-based Benoit also paid homage to Music City with 2011’s Night Train To Nashville, which also featured Louisiana’s Leroux.
Joining Benoit at the Ryman: Very Special Guest, Samantha Fish. “That was my mission on this album: To really set these songs up so that they have a life of their own,” says guitarist Samantha Fish about Kill or Be Kind, her sixth solo album and Rounder Records debut. “Strong messages from the heart – that’s what I really set out for.” Indeed, what comes across immediately on hearing the album is the extraordinary level of song-craft on its eleven tracks, the way these songs are so smartly put together to deliver a potent emotional impact. Anyone who has ever heard Fish’s previous albums knows that she has earned a place in the top rank of contemporary blues guitarists and that her voice can wring the soul out of a ballad and belt out a rocker with roof-shaking force. And, rest reassured, those virtues are fully in evidence on Kill or Be Kind. Each of the songs tell captivating stories, set up by verses that deftly set the scene, choruses that lift with real feeling, and hooks that later rise up in your thoughts. Those qualities make Kill or Be Kind a genuine artistic breakthrough for Fish.
Benoit was selected a “30 Best Blues Guitarist In The World Today” by Guitar World and co-authored the recently-released book, Blues Therapy, about the blues and mental illness.
Reviewing a live Tab Benoit show this past Spring, Blues Rock Review writes, “Song number two was “Little Girl Blues” a hard rocking bayou blues song from 2005’s Fever From the Bayou giving Tab the opportunity to demonstrate his prowess on the six string by attacking it like a man possessed. “Nothing Takes the Place of You” by Toussaint McCall was a beautiful soaring blues tune that Benoit sang with a passion reminiscent of the late great Otis Redding. The final song of Benoit’s 75-minute set was “Medicine” the title barn burning song from the 2011 album. The band was so tight by this time that it was seamless in the way that the trio inter-played with each other. The night ended as a satisfied audience expressed their appreciation for a great show.”
Benoit, who’s always been known for his environmental activism, performed two nights in his hometown of Houma last Spring at the 16th Annual Voice of the Wetlands Festival. He also appears prominently in the IMax motion picture Hurricane on the Bayou, a documentary of Hurricane Katrina’s effects and a call to protect and restore the Wetlands, and produced a CD to help restore that state’s Coastal Wetlands. Benoit was recently inducted into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists in the Spring of 2020.
Benoit has launched his own imprint, Whiskey Bayou Records, with partner and manager, Rueben Williams. The label has thus far released albums by such established artists as Eric McFadden, Alastair Greene, Damon Fowler, Eric Johanson, Jeff McCarty, and Dash Rip Rock.
TAB BENOIT ON TOUR! FALL/WINTER 2020-21 ITINERARY
Nov. 6 (Fri.) RYMAN AUDITORIUM* Nashville, TN
Nov. 7 (Sat.) CITY WINERY Atlanta, GA
Nov. 8 (Sun.) LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM Memphis, TN
Nov. 10 (Tues.) WOODLANDS TAVERN Columbus, OH
Nov. 11 (Wed.) BEACHLAND BALLROOM/TAVERN Cleveland, OH
Nov. 12 (Thur.) BEACHLAND BALLROOM/TAVERN Cleveland, OH
Nov. 14 (Sat.) TALLY HO THEATER Leesburg, VA
Nov. 15 (Sun.) RAMS HEAD ONSTAGE Annapolis, MD
Nov. 18 (Wed.) THE BIRCHMERE Alexandria, VA
Nov. 19 (Thur.) THE BIRCHMERE Alexandria, VA
Dec. 9 (Wed.) MANSHIP THEATER Baton Rouge, LA
Dec. 11 (Fri.) DOSEY DOE The Woodlands, TX
Dec. 12 (Sat.) DOSEY DOE The Woodlands, TX
Dec. 13 (Sun.) THE KESSLER Dallas, TX
Jan. 29 (Fri.) SKIPPERS SMOKEHOUSE Tampa, FL
Jan. 30 (Sat.) SKIPPERS SMOKEHOUSE Tampa, FL
Feb. 18 (Thur.) PRIVATE EVENT New Orleans, LA
March 23 (Tues.) THE VOGUE Indianapolis, IN
March 24 (Wed.) THE KENT STAGE Kent, OH
March 25 (Thur.) TAFT THEATER Cincinnati, OH
March 26 (Fri.) BEACHLAND BALLROOM/TAVERN Cleveland, OH
March 27 (Sat.) JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE Warrendale, PA
March 28 (Sun.) RAMS HEAD ONSTAGE Annapolis, MD
March 29 Mon.) RAMS HEAD ONSTAGE Annapolis, MD
March 31 (Wed.) BEACON THEATER Hopewell, VA
April 1 (Thur.) TALLY HO THEATER Leesburg, VA
April 2 (Fri.) ELEVATION 27 Virginia Beach, VA
April 3 (Sat.) HARVESTER PERFORMANCE CTR. Rocky Mount, VA
April 6 (Tue.) S. ORANGE PERFOM. ARTS CTR. South Orange, NJ
April 7 (Wed.) SONY HALL New York, NY
April 8 (Thur.) COHOES MUSIC HALL Cohoes, NY
April 9 (Fri.) BULL RUN Shirley, MA
April 10 (Sat.) INFINITY HALL Hartford, CT
* with Special Guest, Samantha Fish
(Nashville, TN) – dougdeutschPR