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In this week of wall-to-wall Morganza to the Gulf coverage, one of the project’s biggest champions took home top honors at the 33rd-Annual Blues Music Awards.
Houma musician and Vandebilt Catholic High School graduate Tab Benoit won three titles at the ceremony, which took place Thursday at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis.
The top honor given to Benoit was the prestigious B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Award, which is given to the artist selected as the previous year’s top blues musician.
It is the second time Benoit has been awarded the honor. He also won it in 2007.
“They gave this award to B.B. so many times that it’s named after him,” Benoit told World Music Central after winning the award. “I had a friend who once met B.B. and asked him, ‘Who should I listen to when I first get into the blues?’ B.B. King could have named almost anyone, but instead, he said, ‘Tab Benoit.’ That’s why the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award means so much to me.”
Benoit’s selection comes after what has been a busy year for local musician.
The Houma native released an album, titled Medicine, on April 26.
The 11-track album is comprised of seven Benoit originals that were co-written with songwriter Anders Osborne.
The album was an unquestioned success.
Because of its smooth sounds and powerful lyrics, it was named as the Contemporary Blues Album of the Year at the ceremony.
“Medicine captures what this album is all about,” Benoit told the World Music Central. “Let music be the medicine. Like John Lee Hooked once said, ‘Blues is the healer.’”
In addition to the aforementioned awards, Benoit was also selected as the Contemporary Male Artist of the Year at the ceremony.
Benoit is known for his love of the Louisiana wetlands.
He is described as a “driving force,” behind the Voice of the Wetlands, an organization working to save Louisiana’s coast.
In 2010, Benoit received the Governor’s Award for Conservationist of the Year for his work to preserve Louisiana’s marsh.
Houma musician Tab Benoit enjoys a guitar solo during Jazz Fest. Benoit took home three awards at this week’s Blues Music Awards.
