This past weekend, acclaimed bluesman Tab Benoit launched his new “Soul Of The Swamp” tour with two Colorado Front Range performances. He made his debut at Phil Long Music Hall in Colorado Springs on Friday, May 22, then returned to Washington’s in Fort Collins on Saturday, May 23. Denver-area fans won’t have to wait long to see him again – he’s scheduled to return to Colorado in September for a show at the Gothic Theatre on Thursday, September 17.
It wasn’t that long ago that Benoit closed out his Fall 2025 “I Hear Thunder” tour at Stargazers in Colorado Springs. That September 14 show capped a three-night Colorado run through Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs. Just over eight months later, he was back in Colorado for consecutive shows to launch his new tour.
Benoit is a road warrior. He spent most of the time between last September’s Colorado run and this past weekend’s shows on the road, both solo and collaborating with artists such as JD Simo, Sam Morrow, Jesse Dayton, Paul Thorn, and Samantha Fish. And because he has a special affinity for playing in Colorado, blues fans here get plenty of chances to see him live.
In my review of Benoit’s three consecutive Colorado shows last September (Denver Entertainment Hub/Tab Benoit), I wrote that one of the best things about seeing him on back-to-back nights is that no two shows are the same. It is not that he deliberately tries to make consecutive performances different; rather, he does not try to keep them the same. He does not rely on a fixed setlist. Of course, there are songs he almost has to play each night or risk disappointing his loyal fans. But his catalog is deep enough that, when he plays consecutive shows in the same area, he can spread those essential songs across both nights and fill in the rest with whatever feels right in the moment.
That’s exactly what he did last Friday and Saturday. Across the two nights, Benoit performed sixteen songs in total. Half of them – eight songs – appeared in both sets, while the other eight differed, with three unique to Friday and five unique to Saturday. Even among the shared songs, he made small adjustments to the sequencing from one night to the next.
Friday’s set ran 11 songs total – nine in the main set and two in the encore – and lasted one hour and 40 minutes. Saturday’s show included 13 songs – 11 in the main set and two in the encore – and ran one hour and 37 minutes.
Benoit opened both nights with “Medicine,” from his 2011 album of the same name. The encore was also identical each night, featuring “Still Gray” and “I Hear Thunder” from the 2024 album I Hear Thunder. That release was well represented in both sets, with four songs on Friday and those same four, plus one more, on Saturday.
The entire setlists for both nights, presented in order, can be found in the photo gallery below.
Both performances were excellent. Benoit’s guitar work remained as commanding as ever, and his vocals were in top form. His between-song banter was just as engaging, with a different mix of jokes and stories each night. Longtime bassist Corey Duplechin and drummer Chip Vayenas supplied the perfect rhythmic foundation for Benoit’s more improvisational solos.
Opening support for the first month of the new tour is being provided by Belgian-born blues-rock singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ghalia Volt. I do not usually spend much time on opening acts, but Volt was impossible to overlook. She is a standout slide guitarist with an exceptional voice and a commanding stage presence. Her 40-minute set was outstanding. If you are not familiar with her work, she is well worth a listen. Her sixth album, Burn The House Down, was released on May 15 through Ruf Records.
A big shoutout to the crowds on both nights. I’m not sure whether the shows officially sold out, but they certainly looked full. Musicians feed off the energy of a packed room, and both audiences gave plenty back. The fans in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins represented their cities well.
Another shoutout to Ruby Hinrichs and the entire crew at Washington’s in Fort Collins. Thank you for the excellent pre-show hospitality and, more importantly, for everything you do to make Washington’s one of my favorite live music venues on Colorado’s Front Range.
As mentioned in the opening paragraph of this post, Benoit will bring his “Soul Of The Swamp” tour back to Colorado in September. He’ll be at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood on Thursday, September 17, and will follow that up with performances on Saturday, September 19 and Sunday, September 20 at the Telluride Blues & Brew Festival. You can pick up tickets for any of these shows at https://www.tabbenoit.com/tour/.
Whenever possible, I try to include comments from people I meet at the shows I cover in my reviews. On Friday night in Colorado Springs, Dave from Arvada, who was seeing Benoit perform live for the first time, said the following about Benoit’s performance… “Having seen many blues performances over the last few years, I can honestly say that Tab Benoit is one of a kind – both in the sounds he’s able to draw out of his instrument and his ability to engage with his audience on a personal level. Tab and his band blew me away!”
You nailed it, Dave.
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
