Swamp Mama’s: Blues on the Bayou
The only complaint that can be made about Swamp Mama’s is thatthe stage may be too small to hold all the eager musicians that thedowntown blues bar attracts on Sunday nights. Every Sunday nightfrom 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., Swamp Mama’s hosts the “Blues You Can Use,All-Star Jam,” where the stage is shared and even vied for by acrowd of blues musicians from the Baton Rouge area.
The show on Sunday, August 15, housed a colorful blend of peopleand sound. Men and women of all ages, races, and professionsgathered there, for one color drew them together: the blues. Ownerand career musician, Chris Alexander opened Swamp Mama’s a littleover two years ago because, as he puts it, “Baton Rouge is starvingto hear more of the blues.”
Sunday night’s crowd proved that to be true, which included SamGuy, brother to the legendary blues musician Buddy Guy.
“Buddy Guy has even shown up at Swamp Mama’s on occasion to givean unannounced performance,” Alexander said.
No one knows more about the Blues Jam than its hostess, DeraPopeel affectionately known as “Granny” or the “Original SwampMama.” Over the many Blues Jam sessions she has hosted, Popeel hasseen her fair share of blues talent including famous musicians likeHenry Gray, Larry Garner, Kenny Neal, and Lazy Lester.
“Swamp Mama’s popularity is growing due to the musicians’ wordof mouth,” Popeel said.
Despite its growing national reputation, most of the bluesperformers are local musicians. In fact, the stage is also open toamateurs who want to give it a shot. Owner Chris Alexanderdescribes Sunday nights as unpredictable.
“Because the jam depends on who shows up, the musicians aresometimes unpredictably good and other times not so good.”
However, many of the successful acts return again to giveanother performance. Christine Simmons, the manager of SwampMama’s, estimates that “about fifty percent of the performers areregulars, while the other fifty percent are new faces.”
A few faces sure to be seen again and again are those of theveteran blues band, Sundanze and the Backstreet Blues Band. Theband which plays every Sunday includes Sundanze on guitar andvocals, Lester “Pic” Delmore on drums, Solomon on bass, and ChrisAlexander himself jamming away on a Hammond B3 organ.
Although Sundanze and the Backstreet Blues Band is aprofessional group, many of the musical acts have never playedtogether before.
“This presents a challenge, so we try to make bands out ofpeople.” said Granny.
The event is organized in a way where individuals sign up toperform, listing their musical instrument. Pulling from this pool,Granny and Alexander rotate the musicians out, doing their best tocreate harmonious groups, no pun intended.
This being the case, every jam and every Sunday night aredifferent, but if August 15 was a typical Sunday night, a couplethings to expect include boogie blues tunes that draw couples tothe dance floor, soulful songs by a regular named Carmen Jones,a.k.a. the Bluz Jam Queen, blues rock ballads including Led Zepplincovers, and virtuoso blues solos delivered by the internationallyknown Miguel “Honey Bear” Hernandez, Chris “Ray” Lee, and manymore.
In addition to the different flavors of sound which included asaxophone, accordion, clarinet, and harmonica, just to name a few,Swamp Mama’s served up a spicy batch of red beans and rice to theparticipants of the Blues Jam, musicians and audience membersalike.
“I don’t know whether people come for the music or the food,”said Alexander. If the size of the crowd is any indication, thelarge audience in Swamp Mama’s and the length of the line for theirred beans and rice suggest the answer to be both.