Baton Rouge Blues: The Next Generation

Baton Rouge Blues: The Next Generation

Meet Seven up-and-coming blues musicians working in Baton Rouge

Story by John Wirt • Photos by Raegan Labat

East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, and Pointe Coupée parishes each have rich blues histories. Recording star Slim Harpo came from West Baton Rouge—as did his singing, harmonica-playing peer, Raful Neal. Buddy Guy, the eight-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, lived in Lettsworth and Baton Rouge before his move to Chicago.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, Baton Rouge provided a wellspring of talent for producer J.D. Miller. Harpo, Lightnin’ Slim, Lazy Lester, Tabby Thomas, Silas Hogan, and others traveled frequently to Miller’s recording studio in Crowley to record for Nashville’s Excello Records. A second generation of blues artists emerged in the 1970s and ‘80s, including Thomas’s Grammy-winning son Chris Thomas King, Larry Garner, and Neal’s many musician children.

While the legacy that Harpo, Neal, singer-pianist Henry Gray, and their contemporaries created might never be rivaled, today there is a rising cadre of dedicated and talented young musicians from the region who know their blues heritage. Now early in their careers, this new generation is building on the rich foundation of their forebears, and bringing something new to the table, as well.

Rudolph Valentine Richard III, 19

Rudolph Valentine Richard III is the grandson of the late singer, guitarist, and accordionist Rudolph “Rudy” Richard, an original member of Harpo’s band, the King Bees. A Recording Arts major at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Richard is already an experienced producer, recording hip-hop, rhythm-and-blues, and neo-soul. A keyboardist, he also performs with ULL’s Ragin’ Blues Ensemble.

Rudy Valentine Richard III

Raegan Labat

Richard attended many of his grandfather’s performances. He especially remembers seeing a performance at the Baton Rouge Blues Festival when was about ten. “It was surreal seeing all these people out there come to see my granddad,” he said. “I wasn’t aware of how much notoriety he’d gained.”

When he performs, Richard sometimes feels his grandfather’s presence: “If I get a tingle up my spine, I’m like, ‘Aw, man. He felt that.’ When I’m playing, it’s like his fingers are moving along with mine.”

Although Richard loves to perform, he envisions his future in the studio. “Starting from a blank canvas and creating every aspect of the music,” he said. “I love that.”

Matthew Givens, 24

Lloyd “Teddy” Johnson, owner of Teddy’s Juke Joint in Zachary, pointed out to singer-harmonica player Matthew Givens, aka MR. G, the importance of looking sharp. “Mr. Teddy said, ‘If you’re going to be a blues man, you’ve got to dress like a blues man.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. Next time I come out here, I’ll be sharp-dressed.’ So, next time I got a suit and nice boots, slicked back my hair, and threw on some rings. Mr. Teddy said, ‘That’s a blues man.’ ”

From the small community of Montgomery in North Louisiana, Givens moved to Baton Rouge in March to be nearer opportunities to play blues. He greatly impresses Phil Brady’s Bar & Grill blues jam stage manager Johnny Rossetti, a music professional of over forty years,. “MR. G knows all the old stuff,” Rossetti said. “He plays ‘My Babe’ like the Little Walter record from 1955.”

Music comes naturally to Givens. “I was born and raised in the Pentecostal Church,” he said. “That foot stomping, soul-gospel music is embedded in me. It gives me an internal beat.”

Picking up the harmonica at fifteen, Givens played gospel music before he found Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, and Sonny Terry. “The classic blues harmonica players,” he said. “I like them because they played in a traditional style. That was people sitting on their back porch.”

For Givens, blues and gospel music are equally appealing. “The tone and warmth that I get when I play gospel, I get that same feeling when I pay the blues,” he said. “I can express my blues through this tiny instrument that fits in my hands. It’s a mystery to me.”

Leroy Bishop Toussaint, 31

Keyboardist Leroy Bishop Toussaint recently returned from a Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise gig with the Neal Brothers and their Southern-soul singing nephew, Tyree Neal. He also tours with the oldest Neal brother, Kenny Neal. A cousin of Allen Toussaint—the late New Orleans pianist, songwriter, producer, and arranger—Leroy Toussaint plays piano and organ principally, but also guitar, bass, drums, and just about every instrument in a marching band.

Leroy Bishop Toussaint

Raegan Labat

Like many young musicians, the Jarreau-based Toussaint performs at Phil Brady’s Thursday night blues jam. Rossetti cites him as “unbelievably talented,” saying, “He could can go out on his own, if he wanted to.”

Toussaint’s grandmother started him in piano lessons at three years old. Ultimately, though, his heart wasn’t in the classical pieces his teacher wanted him to play. “I wanted to play the blues,” he said. “Muddy Waters, Solomon Burke, Clarence Carter.”

In 1998, the eight-year-old Toussaint met Raful Neal, patriarch of the Neal family, at the St. Augustine Catholic Church Fair in New Roads. “My grandma told Mr. Raful, ‘My grandson, he really likes playing music,’” Toussaint remembered. “So, the Neals took me under their wing. I’m ever so grateful for that opportunity to be a part of such a great musical family.”

Toussaint performs secular blues at clubs and festivals and sacred music in Point Coupée churches. “If they need me for a funeral or a wedding or a church event, it doesn’t matter the religion,” he said.

John Wiese, 23

John Wiese

Raegan Labat

A singing bass player, John Wiese also performs at Phil Brady’s jam nearly every Thursday. “It’s like it becomes your church or your family,” he said.

An English major at LSU minoring in theater, showman Wiese’s yet untitled band mainly plays blues, but also hard rock and punk rock. Citing Jack White, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Gun Club as examples of musicians who pushed blues in hard-rock directions, Wiese said he wants to propel the genre even further. “Any of those guys who wanted to be different, but take some of the river with them ... those are my people,” he said.

In 2016, Wiese joined some friends who spontaneously attended the Baton Rouge Blues Festival. “As we were walking in,” he recalled, “I heard this incredible guitar. I thought, ‘This has to be someone important.’ Sure enough, it was Buddy Guy.”

Meet the Capitol region’s up-and-coming blues musicians, photographed at the iconic Teddy’s Juke Joint. From left to right: Chris Roberts, Rudolph Valentine Richard III, Leroy Bishop Toussaint, John Wiese, Carter Wilkinson, and Johnathan James. Matthew Givens not pictured.

Photos by Raegan Labat.

Wiese waded into the crowd just in time for one of Guy’s guitar-soloing strolls through his audience. “It was like the Red Sea parting,” Wiese remembered. “Buddy Guy was walking straight towards me. I was in awe.”

Wiese found his inspiration in the influences behind rock acts Led Zeppelin and Cream. “I fell in love with Delta blues and acoustic blues,” he said. “I love the raw authenticity of it. It feels like something from a different world.”

Johnathan James, 25

Classic rhythm-and-blues and soul singers Etta James and Aretha Franklin are the models for John James’ slide-guitar playing, as well as Derek Trucks. Like his friend and collaborator, John Wiese, James searched for the blues artists who inspired 1960s rock stars. The search led him to the three Kings—B.B. King,

Albert King, and Freddie King. “And then I got to T-Bone Walker, Charlie Patton, and Blind Willie McTell,” he said. “Blind Willie Johnson is probably my favorite because his voice is pure raw expression.”

John James

Raegan Labat

Playing guitar since he was fifteen, James’ other influences include Guy, Harpo, and Lazy Lester. Performing at Phil Brady’s blues jams since he was eighteen, he’s another young musician who wants to take blues to new heights.

Chris Roberts, 26

Bassist and guitarist for the Southdown Souls, Chris Roberts, a Baton Rouge native, has been performing professionally for twelve years. Another Phil Brady’s blues jam player who also hosts his own session on Sunday nights at the Fat Cat Saloon in Prairieville, Roberts prefers not to label his music. “But a lot of my big influences are blues musicians, and that comes out in what I do,” he said, citing Muddy Waters and Howin’ Wolf as major inspiration, in addition to the formative rock ‘n’ roll bands that he listened to as a child, including: Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, the Beatles, and more. Not to mention, he added, the local heroes: Henry Gray, Lazy Lester, Kenny Acosta, Raful Neal, Luther Kent, the Funky Meters, and Allen Toussaint.

In addition to playing thirty-five dates with B.B. King in 2013, stints performing with Tab Benoit, Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Greg Allman, ZZ Top, and more, Roberts recently performed on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, playing bass with Jonathon Long, another blues jam graduate. “We went out with the Blues Cruise and saw cats from all over who have the fire for keeping the blues alive,” Roberts said. “That’s cool, but here in South Louisiana, blues is even more important and more of a language.”

Chris Roberts

Raegan Labat

Carter Wilkinson, 22

From Port Allen, singer-guitarist Carter Wilkinson grew up with a father whose playlist included the three Kings, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimi Hendrix. Wilkinson eventually became aware of the blues heritage in his native West Baton Rouge Parish. Kenny Neal, a major part of that heritage, became a mentor. Wilkinson’s influences also include fusion guitarists Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, and Michael Landau. “My style of music emphasizes improvisation, like a stream of consciousness,” he said.

An official Gibson guitar company and Two-Rock Amplifiers artist, Wilkinson has been a full time musician since June. Now based in New Orleans, he performs with multiple bands, including Ethos of Izba, the Evan Hall Band, and the Bryana Matt Band. “New Orleans still has that blues thing and funk sound,” he said. “Going to see George Porter Jr. at the Maple Leaf Bar every Monday night, that’s a master class about how to be a musician and give people chills.”

John Wiese and John James

Raegan Labat