Photo by Mike Buck
Louisiana is a land of catchphrases and curiosities that are exotic to outsiders looking to twist the tail off their first crawfish. The allure is provocative and powerful, so it’s no great feat to imagine the sizeable pull the state’s festivals exercise on those who dwell beyond its borders. The allure for those who are part of the attraction, however, bears further inquiry. Since the crawfish were unavailable for questioning, local musicians Andrew Duhon, Denton Hatcher, and Heather Feierabend explained the mutually beneficial opportunities that festival season presents to music makers.
Voodoo Music + Arts Experience and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, two of the most widely recognized fests thanks to their celebrity headliners, draw large attendance and create instant crowds for the local and regional performers who populate their daily lineups. Andrew Duhon, who plays these larger festivals, said they allow his eponymous soulful folk trio to be a part of the cultural experience that people expect when attending a Louisiana music festival. “At Jazz Fest it feels like with everything from the stage to the food, there’s a taste of the culture involved. And you feel somehow honored to be ambassadors of that culture,” he explained.
Duhon (pictured left; photo by Nicholas Walsh) finds reward helping festivals “market the culture” and cultivate new fans, but there are more direct benefits as well. Festival marketing provides the band with invaluable advertising; and venue representatives who are not even present at Duhon’s festival performances will occasionally contact him to book the trio after seeing their name in festival advertisements. “To be associated [with larger music festivals] is promotion in itself,” he explained. Local performers booked on these prestigious bills enjoy what Duhon described as, “a home court advantage.” The likelihood of Jazz Fest and Voodoo selecting a lesser-known group from another state is slim: “We play Jazz Fest because we are from New Orleans. We are a piece of the culture, and maybe that makes us a good fit,” Duhon said.
It is their music, however, that truly explains the role of The Andrew Duhon Trio in widening the public’s understanding of Louisiana’s diverse sound profile. The two genres that most people living outside the state immediately associate with the culture, jazz and blues, comprise only part of the Louisiana sound. Duhon’s gritty brand of honest storytelling gives festival-goers a chance to experience a bit of what’s beyond the brass band. Though the confessional style of Duhon’s music is more personal, the setting is anything but intimate. Among the most memorable and rewarding moments for Duhon is from the band’s performance at last year’s Jazz Fest as he “look[ed] out at the sea of people while playing a show [they] believed in.”
The only conceivable downside, playing such a concentration of local festivals in the compressed timeline of the spring, is more of an advantage to Duhon, who makes his living as a musician: “After Jazz Fest is over we go on tour. It is time to get out of town because we’ve exhausted the market in festival season.” On the road, the band witnesses firsthand the sustaining benefits of their wider exposure through interactions with fans who’ve discovered them at festivals and extended their following by bringing friends out to the shows. “The Louisiana festival season is a landmark on our year, where we have the opportunity to play in front of some of the biggest crowds we play to all year. And when we play a great show to a crowd like that, it’s the right kind of jumping off point to hit the road from there.”
Name-brand festivals represent only a fraction of the festival season; the majority of musicians find the smaller, more numerous festivals equally rewarding, like New Orleans’ French Quarter Festival and the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, which each captivate a more regional audience. Longtime barroom balladeer, Denton Hatcher (pictured left; photo by Eray Photography) identified immediately a key difference between playing these festivals and the local-venue circuit. “There is usually a guarantee that you are going to get paid [at festivals], so you don’t have to worry about the door,” said Hatcher. Like most local musicians, Hatcher has a day job and subsidizes his income with earnings from gigs (“My guitars are like my live-in spouse that makes my other ends meet”), and festivals provide a more reliable supplementary income stream. Festival stipends are further boosted by merchandise sales. “You move more [merchandise] at festivals. At bars, people are usually there to just listen to live music. At festivals, they are seeking out new things, and you actually do sell CDs,” said Hatcher, who recently sold out of inventory items—a rarity for local bands, who, most times, haul the same battered suitcase of goods from gig to gig for years, unloading only a handful of units at a time.
While the extra money is a boon, Hatcher’s love of the diverse Louisiana music community provides him the greatest reward when playing festivals: “You see a mix of everything that our state has to offer as far as music goes; it’s more eclectic than people allow it to be sometimes in their own minds. I think a lot of people from out of state think Louisiana is just full of blues and jazz and that kind of stuff; but there are a lot of different rock bands that are out there doing things, and you’ve got a good funk scene.” Hatcher’s music is a fusion of blues, soul, and country, which makes him a natural fit for local festivals that celebrate these sounds and an appealing option for out-of-state festivals wanting to bring a bit of Louisiana to their neck of the woods. It was through the French Quarter Festival that Hatcher established a connection with the Key West Songwriters Festival, where he has played the last two years. Hatcher and his band have toured a bit but stay close to Louisiana for the most part without worrying about limiting their reach. “People will come to Louisiana anyway,” said Hatcher. “The culture is here, and we are glad to be a part of it.”
The Fugitive Poets have fifteen years of folk festivals under their brass-buckled belts and a following that affords smaller community events the insurance of a built-in crowd. “We always close the Yellow Leaf Arts Festival in St. Francisville, and we’ve been going for twelve years,” said mandolin player and vocalist Heather Feierabend (pictured left; photo by David Simpson). The band is so deeply rooted in the Louisiana music community that they’ve grown a loyal fan base that’s followed them through decades. “We have a lot of people who come to see us wherever we are,” Feierabend said.
With a standing monthly gig at Birdman Coffee & Books in St. Francisville, The Fugitive Poets enjoy a unique opportunity to advertise on a regular basis for their other shows. “If you’re not going to get the word out about your show and you’re a local band, nobody is going to come,” said Feierabend. “With the festivals, you aren’t shouldering the responsibility of promoting.” Having such steady devotees has inherent advantages, but Feierabend also appreciates playing to festival audiences who might be unaccustomed to her band’s sound. “We played the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, and we had a few passersby stick around and dance awhile,” Feierabend recounted. “I think they were really hoping for a blues experience; but we play bluegrass, which is mixed with the blues but is not the first thing people think of when they think of the blues.”
The members of The Fugitive Poets all have busy professional and personal lives, another reason they find the convenience of Baton Rouge’s multiple neighborhood festivals, like The Ogden Park Prowl and Art Melt, so enticing. “You get to play a festival and then go home at night,” Feierabend said. Touring is not a high priority for the band; they stay busy enough in their own backyard.
The benefits of a flourishing festival season to musicians are clear, but it’s wise to remember that the stage-side benefits are pretty good too. Exposure, advertising, regular(ish) paychecks, and a multitude of live performing opportunities for musicians ensure a vibrant homegrown music scene that reinforces this region’s musical reputation and makes for plenty of good listening year round.
We would tell you to support your local festivals, but we know you already do.
