Chelsea’s Cafe, one of the more impressive music venues in Baton Rouge, is staying on top of the local music scene by hosting the Live@Chelsea’s concert series.
The fifth installment in the Live@Chelsea’s series, presented by the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation, began Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and featured two Baton Rouge blues guitar greats Chicago Al and Larry Garner. The series runs through April.
The Live@Chelsea’s program started in 2007 when East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s Head of Reference Services Emilie Smart worked with Cox Communications to fund musicians and Chelsea’s Cafe to host the shows, Smart said.
Smart said Chelsea’s Cafe was picked as the venue for the library’s musical endeavors because it’s the best live music venue in Baton Rouge and it welcomes all ages.
“We felt like this particular program should be for everyone in order to best serve our mission,” Smart said. “Chelsea’s fits the bill.”
Chelsea’s manager and bartender Kris Webb said customers asked for earlier shows for years prior to Live@Chelsea’s.
The program begins earlier than most shows.
“The first series was so popular that we kind of had to do it again,” Smart said.
Smart said the event serves the library’s mission to provide educational and recreational sources to East Baton Rouge Parish citizens.
She said children and teens rarely get the opportunity to hear jazz and blues music in a setting where the music is the focus. Live@Chelsea’s and the library has had many parents confess their gratitude for the program.
The library also supports small businesses in Baton Rouge and working with Chelsea’s allows them to show that support within the business and arts community, Smart said.
Smart, who is also on the Blues Foundation Board, said she thought having the foundation partner with the library would be beneficial to each organization, which led to the blues series.
The foundation’s purpose in partnering with the library is to promote Baton Rouge blues and use the library’s marketing machine to spread the foundation’s message and blues music, said Baton Rouge Blues Foundation President Bill Bryan.
Bryan said he would like to see the Live@Chelsea’s blues installment encourage more people to attend other blues shows around town and enjoy the music that Baton Rouge is known for internationally.
“Blues is an interesting genre of music, but there aren’t many opportunities to see live blues performers,” said Steven Kuzy, mechanical engineering freshman. “That’s why Live@Chelsea’s is beneficial to the music scene in Baton Rouge.”
Larry Garner, Live@Chelsea’s blues performer, said the program helps spread the blues to a wider area by providing shows at a popular venue at an earlier time.
The Live@Chelsea’s series will continue to provide live shows as long as it stays popular with patrons and funding for the program remains secure, Smart said.
“We want LSU students to be aware that the Live@Chelsea’s shows have no cover charge and the music will be incredible,” Bryan said. “We’ve got some really great blues artists in Baton Rouge, and they know how to throw down.”
 
—-
Contact Ferris W. McDaniel at [email protected]