After college, musician Benjamin Booker found his way from Florida to Louisiana and started calling New Orleans home.
Tonight he’ll head west to Baton Rouge as he performs at The Varsity Theatre tonight at 9 p.m. as a part of his tour. This will be the second time Booker has performed in the Red Stick, the first being a Spanish Moon show in February 2014.
“It was a very easy going show, we had a good time,” Booker said.
Booker started his musical journey in Florida where he grew up and attended college as he sang and played guitar. He said his move to New Orleans was dictated by a non-profit job he was hired for. However, he kept writing songs even after the move.
Booker said he started as a solo artist. A year and a half ago in New Orleans, drummer Max Norton joined him and a year ago bass player Alex Spoto joined them. He said adding a band to his performances has made live shows a better experience.
“When I was playing solo there was just a very different vibe to the show but now it’s just more fun, more energy and dancing,” Booker said.
Being in the Big Easy amidst the music culture, Booker said there was a lot of different, new music that helped influence, his singer-songwriter music style. Some of his influences include The Gun Club, T. Rex and Blind Willie Johnson.
Along with a big move to New Orleans, his career recently made a big step as well. In August, Booker released his self-titled debut album on ATO Records.
From an ATO Records press release, the “Benjamin Booker” record received praise from multiple media outlets. Rolling Stone called it “fierce” and Vice described the sound as “a layer cake of guitar shredding, incorporating Dinosaur Jr. quality riffs with an insistent, punk-like forward motion.”
This melding of sounds is something concert-goers should expect when attending the show at The Varsity. Booker said along with the fan favorites, listeners should expect some new original music along with new covers of other songs.
Tickets are $12 and doors open at 8 p.m. with the show beginning at 9 p.m. The opening act to Booker is Yelephants.
The Baton Rouge show is part of Booker’s tour. Other Louisiana dates include two shows in New Orleans at One Eyed Jacks.
Benjamin Booker will perform at the Varsity Theatre on April 23.
