GP’s songwriting-themed issue coincided with my being in New Orleans to cover the 49th annual Jazz & Heritage Festival, so it was an awesome opportunity to connect with top regional players about the art of acoustic songwriting.
Benoit
Tab Benoit is best known as a spitfire bluesman, but the Houma, Louisiana, resident is also a true bard of the bayou, as well as the head of a new label appropriately dubbed, “Whiskey Bayou Records.” Anders Osborne is easily one of the most respected songwriters in New Orleans.
He originally hails from Sweden, but he has been in the Big Easy for so long—and embodies the region’s distinct musical dialect—that he’s sought out for songs and collaborations by NOLA stars such as Trombone Shorty and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, as well as artists ranging from Keb’ Mo’ to Tim McGraw. North Mississippi Allstars frontman Luther Dickinson is also a former Black Crowe, as well as a sought-after producer who took the Honey Island Swamp Band under his wing for its latest release, Demolition Day.
The group has won Best Roots Rock Artist honors multiple times in the respected New Orleans publication Offbeat, and most of the band’s Bayou Americana tunes come courtesy of lead guitarist Chris Mulé and rhythm guitarist/mandolin player Aaron Wilkinson.
Osborne
Do you choose the acoustic or an electric when using the guitar as a songwriting tool?
Osborne: I write almost exclusively on acoustic guitars—even the rockers. I love the organic feel and intimate relationship I have with my acoustic guitars. The capo might be my best friend.
Dickinson: My whole relationship with the guitar is acoustic-based. Even my electric approach is about trying to make a fingerpicked semi-hollow Gibson with