One of the Bogalusa Blues and Heritage Festival's missions is to honor people whose artistic roots have been nurtured in local soil and, in turn, have helped fertilize the environment for future generations.

 

Last year, our inaugural festival honored Bogalusa native Henry Roeland Byrd, the inimitable pioneering force known to music lovers as Professor Longhair.

 

This year we will recognize another legendary powerhouse whose influence has reached around the world and across the genres, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.

 

The man who has been called a “national treasure” is a Grammy winner, a Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and a Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee, an eight-time winner of the W.C. Handy Award and a recipient of the prestigious Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

 

Brown, whose diverse body of work has been acknowledged as an inspiration by industry greats such as Eric Clapton, Frank Zappa and Joe Louis Walker, was well familiar with eastern Washington Parish.

 

He spent countless hours recording and sitting in at his “favorite” Studio in the Country, and in 2001 recorded Back to Bogalusa within its acclaimed and angled walls. His longtime manager, co-producer and friend was Jim Bateman of Bogalusa's Real Records.

 

On Sept. 28, 2013, the BBHF will acknowledge and celebrate the national treasure as one of Bogalusa's own. Listen to his music, and you will hear our spirit.