About the Event

I HEAR THUNDER TOUR 2024 

Get ready for an electrifying musical experience—an evening of soulful roots music by two musical treasures: Tab Benoit and Anders Osborne! Witness these legendary artists as they take the stage together, combining their individual styles and musical prowess to create a heartfelt performance. Benoit and Osborne are known as prolific songwriters, and both have unique styles of guitar playing. On this special night, they will be backing each other as they roll through their extensive catalogs and introduce new material. Don’t miss your chance to witness these two guitar legends in action as they unleash an unforgettable storm of sound and leave audiences thunderstruck with the I Hear Thunder Tour 2024! 

Tab Benoit 

One of the most impressive guitarists to emerge from the rich bayous of southern Louisiana in recent years, Tab Benoit’s guitar tone can be recognized before his Otis-Redding-ish voice resonates from the speakers. He doesn’t rely on any effects, and his setup is simple. It consists of a guitar, cord, and Category 5 amplifier. The effects you hear come from his fingers. 

Born on November 17, 1967, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Benoit grew up in the nearby oil and fishing town of Houma, where he still resides today. Musically, he was exposed early on to traditional Cajun waltzes and the country music broadcast on his hometown’s only radio station. In the late 1980s, Benoit began hanging out at the Blues Box, a music club and cultural center in Baton Rouge run by guitarist Tabby Thomas. Playing guitar alongside Thomas, Raful Neal, Henry Gray, and other high-profile regulars at the club, Benoit learned the blues firsthand from these living legends. He formed a trio in 1987 and began playing clubs in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. In 1992, Benoit released his first recording, Nice and Warm, which prompted comparisons to blues guitar heavyweights like Albert King, Albert Collins, and even Jimi Hendrix. Benoit’s music evolved in 2002, stripping it down to a three-piece group, where he found more freedom as a guitarist. 

Benoit also uses his music to bring attention to Louisiana’s coastal erosion issues. His 2004 album Wetlands combines many musical styles that are indigenous to Louisiana. Following its release, Benoit founded the Voice of the Wetlands nonprofit organization (VoiceOfTheWetlands.org) and put together an all-star band featuring Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, George Porter Jr., Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Vidacovich, Johnny Sansone, and Waylon Thibodeaux that became The Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars. His 2011 album Medicine received a long list of awards, including the BB King Entertainer of the Year distinction at the 2012 Blue Music Awards in Memphis. 

Listen to Tab Benoit 

Anders Osborne 

Between the potency of his richly detailed songwriting; his intensely emotional, soulful vocals; and his piercing, expert guitar work, New Orleans’s Anders Osborne is a true musical treasure. He is among the most original and visionary musicians writing and performing today. Guitar Player calls him “the poet laureate of Louisiana’s fertile roots music scene.” New Orleans’s Gambit Weekly has honored Osborne as Entertainer of the Year. A powerful live performer, the musician has won over fans through nonstop touring, as well as a heralded collaboration with the North Mississippi Allstars and Southern Soul Assembly. 

JamBands.com said: “Osborne finds a striking balance of muscle and grace that allows for the smaller moments of quiet to be just as resounding as the sonic booms.” And USA Today has praised his music, saying, “The relentless approach amplifies the anguished lyrics, which appear to be about the death of a loved one or a relationship torn asunder or perhaps a spiritual crisis.” In a review of Spacedust & Ocean Views, Boulder Weekly said the album “finds the guitarist in a (largely) reflective mood, an extended meditation on place and moments in time, memory, passages through and exits from paragraphs in the non-fiction docudrama of life. Through languid, gently formed figures, Osborne coaxes odes of gratitude and compelling imagery in what seems a little like a travelogue—like watching his kid chasing seabirds on the beach.” 

Osborne has toured virtually nonstop, either with his own band, as a solo artist, or as a guest with his countless musical admirers, including Toots and The Maytals, Stanton Moore, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo’, The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh, Jackie Greene, and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. He’s produced and played on critically acclaimed albums by Tab Benoit, Johnny Sansone, and Mike Zito. Since his recording debut in 1989, Osborne has written virtually all of his own material and contributed memorable songs to a wide variety of artists. Two tunes co-written by Osborne appear on Keb’ Mo’s Grammy®-winning 1999 release Slow Down. And Country superstar Tim McGraw scored a #1 hit with Osborne’s song “Watch the Wind Blow By.” His compositions have been covered by artists as diverse as Brad Paisley, Tab Benoit, Jonny Lang, Edwin McCain, Sam Bush, Trombone Shorty and Aaron Neville, and Kim Carnes. And his songs have appeared in multiple feature films. He can also be seen performing in an episode of HBO’s New Orleans-based drama Treme. 

Listen to Anders Osborne 

Listen to J.D. Simo