Tab Benoit

Career Early years Benoit was born in Houma, Louisiana, United States.

Benoit was featured in the IMAX film, Hurricane on the Bayou.

Development as an artist Benoit landed a recording contract with Texas-based Justice Records and released a series of recordings, beginning in 1992 with Nice and Warm. These Blues Are All Mine was released on Vanguard in 1999 after Justice folded.

That same year, Benoit appeared on Homesick for the Road, a collaborative album on the Telarc label with fellow guitarists Kenny Neal and Debbie Davies. Homesick not only served as a showcase for three relatively young musicians, but also launched Benoit's relationship with Telarc, which came to fruition in 2002 with the release of Wetlands.

On Wetlands, Benoit mixed original material such as the autobiographical "When a Cajun Man Gets the Blues" and "Fast and Free" with Professor Longhair's "Her Mind Is Gone" and Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine".

Later in 2002, Benoit released Whiskey Store, a collaborative recording with fellow guitarist and Telarc labelmate Jimmy Thackery, and "he premier blues music event in the world".

Benoit was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame (LMHOF) on May 16, 2010, at the LMHOF Louisiana Music Homecoming in Erwinville, Louisiana.

In 2012, Benoit won three separate Blues Music Awards: Contemporary Blues Male Artist; Contemporary Blues Album (for 2011's Medicine); and for the second time, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year.

2013 saw Benoit win the Blues Music Awards Contemporary Blues Male Artist for the second year in a row.

Business ventures and activism Benoit became owner of Tab Benoit's Lagniappe Music Cafe, situated in the downtown district of Houma, Louisiana.

Benoit has also been involved in conservation efforts on behalf of Louisiana wetlands. He is the founder of 'Voice of the Wetlands,' an organization promoting awareness of the receding coastal wetlands of Louisiana. In 2010, Benoit received the Governor's Award – Conservationist of the Year for 2009 by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. He uses his music to promote the issues that plague Louisiana's imperiled coast to his national audience. One reason he founded the nonprofit Voice of the Wetlands Foundation (VOW) is to support outreach and education about Louisiana's Wetlands loss and how Louisiana's rich culture is also going away as its wetlands disappear. Benoit co-arranged and co-produced Alastair Greene's album, The New World Blues. The album was released on October 23, 2020.

Discography 1993 – Nice and Warm 1994 – What I Live For 1995 – Standing on the Bank 1997 – Live: Swampland Jam 1998 – Homesick for the Road with Kenny Neal, Debbie Davies 1999 – These Blues are All Mine 2001 – Wetlands 2002 – Whiskey Store with Jimmy Thackery 2003 – The Sea Saint Sessions 2004 – Whiskey Store Live with Jimmy Thackery 2005 – Fever for the Bayou 2005 – Voice of the Wetlands – Voice of the Wetlands Allstars 2006 – Brother to the Blues with Louisiana's LeRoux 2007 – Power of the Pontchartrain with Louisiana's LeRoux 2008 – Night Train To Nashville with Louisiana's LeRoux 2011 – Medicine with Anders Osborne 2011 – Box of Pictures – Voice of the Wetlands Allstars 2012 – Legacy: The Best Of 2024 – I Hear Thunder with Anders Osborne