Winter Park welcomed the 24th Annual Blues From The Top Festival to the Rendezvous Events Center this past weekend. The three-day event began Friday evening and continued through Sunday. Making his festival debut, acclaimed singer, songwriter, and guitarist Marc Broussard opened the weekend with a standout fourteen-ish-song set – more on the “ish” later – that ran one hour and twelve minutes and had fans on their feet, pressing toward the stage barrier.
It may have been Broussard’s first Blues From The Top appearance, but based on the crowd’s reaction – and assuming both the stars and his tour schedule align – it probably won’t be his last.
Many festivalgoers, interestingly, seemed only casually familiar with Broussard before he and his band took the stage. Friday’s lineup featured two acts: Broussard, followed by The Wood Brothers. Before the music began, I spoke with more than a dozen people, and about 60% said they had come primarily for the second act. After Broussard’s set, I checked back with several of them to hear what they thought.
Stephanie from Highlands Ranch called Broussard’s voice “extraordinary.” Her husband Ryan, who had told me before the set that The Wood Brothers were his all-time favorite band, said the night delivered more than he expected. He heard his all-time favorite band and discovered another – Broussard’s – that he was adding to his favorites list. He also said, “the guitar player (Bobby Junior) freaking killed it.”
Donnie and his brother Ben travelled from Cheyenne for the festival. Donnie said Broussard gave the kind of performance “you would expect to see from the band that closed the festival more than the one that opened it.” Ben added that although neither of them knew Broussard’s music before the show, they planned to be “loading a bunch of his music into their drive home playlist” after the festival.
My survey was hardly scientific. Still, I’m confident there were far more Marc Broussard fans in the world at 7:42 p.m., when his set ended, than there had been at 6:30 p.m., when it began.
Broussard released his debut album, Momentary Setback, in 2002, at age twenty. In the twenty-four years since, he has added twelve more studio albums, including two this year: S.O.S. V: Songs of the ’50s in February and Chance Worth Taking in April. With a catalog that deep and varied, he had plenty of material to choose from for his live set. To his credit, the setlist spanned his entire career, pulling from seven of his thirteen studio albums, reaching back to Momentary Setback.
Backed by longtime band members Bobby Junior on lead guitar and vocals, Devin Cerrigan on bass, and Terry Scott, Jr. on drums and vocals, plus newcomer Dan Souvigny on keys, Broussard opened strong with one of his signature songs, “Home.” The high-energy favorite, which often appears near the end of his live shows, was one of four selections from 2004’s Carencro, his sophomore album and the release that effectively launch his career. Moving “Home” to the opener was a smart choice, putting the crowd on its feet immediately. Following it with “You’ll Be Sorry,” a hip-shaking blues rocker from Chance Worth Taking, worked just as well.
The rest of the set highlighted Broussard’s effortless range across genres. Whether moving from funk to blues, rock to R&B, or soul to folk to pop, his vocal command was striking. He can reach straight into your soul with a tender love song, then immediately get you on your feet with James Brown-style funk.
Speaking of James Brown, here’s where that earlier “ish” comes in. The setlist below is in order and includes fourteen songs, though several featured medley moments. During “Come Around,” the band slipped into James Brown’s “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine.” Near the end of “Give You The World,” drummer Terry Scott, Jr. took lead vocals for a verse of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” And what seemed to be the evening’s finale, Solomon Burke’s “Cry To Me,” first folded in a brief reprise of “Home” before turning into The Temptations’ “Shakey Ground.”
The band was excellent from top to bottom. Scott, Jr. sang more lead vocals than he did when I last saw him with Broussard in 2024, and he was terrific. Newcomer Souvigny sounded as if he had been with the group for years, while Cerrigan was his reliably rock-solid self. Bobby Junior, as always, was outstanding. His solos brought the house down, and his slide work was impeccable. He deserves far more credit and attention than he sometimes gets.
And then there’s Marc Broussard. Just over two weeks earlier, I had the good fortune to cover Danielle Nicole’s Colorado Springs show, where her voice was magnificent. Now I was covering Broussard, whose voice is every bit as remarkable. Who’s got it better than me? Noooobody!
Broussard’s voice is as powerful and expressive as any we’ve heard, and he sounds at home in nearly any style. As he shared in my interview with him a little over a month ago (Marc Broussard/Denver Entertainment Hub), his latest album reflects a focused move toward the blues. It isn’t his first blues-centered release – that was 2023’s S.O.S. 4: Blues For Your Soul. This is great news for blues lovers like me, but honestly, the genre almost doesn’t matter. The new album is terrific, but so is the album he released two months earlier, featuring covers of eleven iconic songs from the ’50s. That record brought back sweet memories of my parents, who instilled in me the love of music that remains central to who I am today.
Broussard could probably make an album of ’80s television theme songs sound fantastic.
Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. What isn’t exaggerated is the praise – mine and that of countless others – for Broussard’s remarkable voice. It truly is a gift. Friday marked the fifth Broussard show I’ve covered in recent years, and each time I’ve left in awe. That may sound like hyperbole, but it isn’t. Just ask Stephanie, or Ryan, or Donnie, or Ben, or…
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
