So, this is my first venture into the world of Marc Broussard, and goddam, it won’t be my last! From the opening line of ‘I’ve got to use my imagination,’ I was sold. This right here is some kind of vocal voodoo going on, majestic doesn’t quite cut it, mercurial maybe, sublime absolutely!
The quality in his voice is breathtaking, the delivery and raspy quality that I just love fills my heart with joy and my ears with an audible pleasure so rarely experienced these days on a first listen of an artist, it just simply stops you in your tracks.
The album’s opener is over five minutes long as it builds up to a beautiful crescendo and I just didn’t want it to end, Broussard’s ability to deliver a performance that takes you as the listener on this sonic rollercoaster ride to the point where you are screaming “I don’t wanna get off” is a thing of beauty.
The album is packed with a sumptuous collection of extravagant songs that carry you away from your daily troubles and strife and envelop you in a warm blanket of bluesy goodness, soulful hugs and jazzy nectar from the gods. You will lose yourself in this glorious selection as the minutes roll by, each track just builds on the last as the album delivers again and again.
Of course, Broussard is stellar from front to back, he has also surrounded himself with a backline that brings every nuance to the fore with a brass section to ensure all these tracks shine like freshly polished shoes, and then you add the input of two heavyweights in Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith who also contribute their six-string wizardry to tracks beyond their production talents, this ensures you get one seriously compelling album from start to finish, ticking boxes for lovers of the melodic and the mercurial as they blend the two seamlessly across twelve stunning tracks.
If like me you had yet to experience Marc and have seen his name being tossed around various press outlets, stop what you are doing, check out from the world for 10-15 minutes and take the time to listen to this remarkable artist.
S.O.S. 4: Blues For Your Soul is available on March 3 via Bonamassa’s Keeping The Blues Alive Records.
Pre-order the album HERE.
“S.O.S. 4: Blues For Your Soul” Track Listing
1. I’ve Got to Use My Imagination featuring Joe Bonamassa
2. I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water
3. That’s What Love Will Make You Do featuring Joe Bonamassa
4. Cuttin’ In featuring Roddie Romero
5. Dreamer
6. Empire State Express
7. Love, The Time Is Now featuring Bobby Junior
8. I Asked for Water featuring JJ Grey
9. I Like to Live the Love featuring Eric Krasno
10. Locked Up in Jail (Prison Blues) featuring Josh Smith
11. Driving Wheel featuring Joe Bonamassa
12. When Will I Let Her Go featuring Joe Bonamassa
Broussard resumes his national tour this week in Fort Worth, TX on February 11. Additional cities include Baton Rouge, Memphis, Raleigh, NC, Atlanta, Washington, DC, New York City, and Cincinnati, OH. The list of tour dates is below, with more to be announced. Visit www.marcbroussard.com/tour for updates.
2023 Tour Dates
February 11 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips
February 12 – The Woodlands, TX @ Dosey Doe
February 16 – Gulf Shores, AL @ Erica H. Meyer Civic Center
March 8 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Manship Theatre
March 9 – Memphis, TN @ Lafayette’s Music Room
March 10 – Chattanooga, TN @ Walker Theatre
March 11 – Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre
March 14 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
March 15 – Charleston, SC @ The Riviera Theater
March 17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
March 18 – Birmingham, AL @ The Lyric Theatre
April 5 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theatre
April 6 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
April 7 – Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall
April 8 – New York, NY @ Sony Hall
April 11 – Old Saybrook, CT @ Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center
April 12 – Fall River, MA @ Narrows Center for the Arts
April 14 – Portsmouth, NH @ Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club
April 15 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
April 16 – Ridgefield, CT @ Ridgefield Playhouse
April 18 – Cincinnati, OH @ Memorial Hall
April 21 – Louisville, KY @ Bomhard Theater
April 22 – Huntingdon, TN @ Dixie Carter PAC
Website: www.marcbroussard.com
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About Marc Broussard
Marc Broussard is an artist with a unique gift of channelling the spirits of classic R&B, rock, and soul into contemporary terms. The son of Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard of “The Boogie Kings,” he nurtured his musical gifts at an early age in the vibrant Lafayette, Louisiana music scene. After releasing a highly successful independent EP at age 20, Broussard made his major-label debut with Carencro. The album featured the breakout hit “Home” and catapulted him into the national spotlight. That album and the others that followed revealed Broussard as a southern soul singer with both a rarefied talent and an innate stylistic and emotional authenticity that have made him one of the most indelible artists of his generation. NPR cited, “His music radiates soulful Louisiana blues, but his songs blend those influences with raucous rock ‘n’ roll to create unique and infectious music.” Washington Times noted, “Few modern voices are as powerful as Marc Broussard’s soulful, Bayou-bred baritone.”
Broussard released multiple albums with major labels over the last ten years before returning to his independent roots with several acclaimed original recordings and charitable cover albums via his SOS Foundation (Save our Soul).
Marc Broussard’s philanthropic efforts extend well over a decade, beginning with his self-released album Bootleg to Benefit the Victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and his efforts to organize the Momentary Setback Fund to provide financial assistance to those displaced by both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. In 2015, to further his commitment to tying music to a mission, he established the SOS Foundation as a conduit to raise money for worthy causes, including the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, the City of Refuge in Atlanta, and Our Lady of the Lake Children’s hospital in Baton Rouge, LA. www.marcbroussard.com/charity-1
SOS 4: Blues for Your Soul is a follow-up to 2019’s A Lullaby Collection SOS III, a series of standards geared towards a younger audience with the accompanying book, I Love You For You, marking Broussard’s debut as an author.
About Joe Bonamassa & KTBA Records
Blues-rock superstar Joe Bonamassa is one of the most celebrated performing musicians today. A three-time GRAMMY-nominee, Bonamassa earned his 25th No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart with his latest studio album, Time Clocks.
Cited by Guitar World as “arguably the world’s biggest blues guitarist,” Bonamassa is known for taking risks and venturing into uncharted territory throughout his wide-ranging career, and his latest studio album, Time Clocks marks his most raw, rocking album yet, with American Songwriter sharing, “Bonamassa pushes into fresh territory while staying within a blues-based framework,” and “there is more than enough proof in this sprawling set that Bonamassa doesn’t intend to rest on his laurels or take his star status in the blues-rock genre for granted.” 2023 will see Joe release a lot of new music, continue to produce other artists, and tackle special projects, as well as a year full of touring. For the most updated tour dates and releases, visit: www.jbonamassa.com
Created by Bonamassa and Roy Weisman in 2020, Keeping The Blues Alive Records has proven to be a driving force in the music industry, taking on talented artists and propelling them into the spotlight. KTBA Records has released albums for many artists, including musical icon Dion’s Blues With Friends, Chicago Queen of Guitar Joanna Connor’s 4801 South Indiana Avenue, and British Blues-Rock star Joanne Shaw Taylor’s The Blues Album and Blues From The Heart Live, all of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Charts, while Blues-legend Larry McCray’s Blues Without You and Joanne’s Nobody’s Fool debuted at No. 2. Bonamassa and Weisman have been working with Robert Jon & The Wreck and Joanne Shaw Taylor as part of their vertically integrated management company Journeyman Inc to promote shows and release albums.
KTBA Records represents Bonamassa’s continuing efforts over the last 25 years to support the artistic community and reflects the philosophy of paying it forward just as so many did for him in the hope of paving the way for musicians for years to come. A portion of all the profits from this label is donated to the KTBA Foundation. To support KTBA Records’ mission and its talented artists, visit www.KTBArecords.com
About Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation
Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation (or KTBA) is a registered 501©3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 by three-time GRAMMY-nominated blues-rock artist Joe Bonamassa. KTBA fuels the passion for music by funding relief grants and music education programs for students and teachers all over the country! To date, KTBA has supported over 88,000 students through donations totaling over $2 Million, benefitting schools in every state.
In 2020, the award-winning Fueling Musicians Program was created as a relief fund for helping touring musicians get back on the road. The program is designed to support musicians by providing financial assistance for essential living expenses such as food, shelter, medical bills, and more. To date, KTBA has helped over 350 musicians in need of support. For more
information on how to support, visit www.ktba.org
Photo: Jeff Fasano
LIVE IN CONCERT AT LONDON’S JAZZ CAFÉ
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2023
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM:
THEJAZZCAFELONDON.COM/EVENT/MARC-BROUSSARD
