Tab Benoit brings the blues to the Knitting Factory

Sep. 9—Tab Benoit is refreshingly old school.

The gritty vocalist, who is a dynamic guitarist, has been delivering the blues for more than 30 years. The engaging player who was born on the bayou renders Delta flavored tunes, which hit fans in the gut.

"I don't label anything," Benoit said. "You can call it what you want. Other people come up with these names. I just make music. I think you can call what I do country blues. I think people hear what I do and connect a region with it."

Benoit, 54, plays with ferocity, whether it's his own sturdy, moving originals with fierce guitar lines or a searing take on the classic Screamin' Jay Hawkins cut "I Put a Spell on You."

"It's fun doing covers," Benoit said. "It's been done for years in the blues world. Playing originals shows where you come from."

Benoit, who will perform Saturday at the Knitting Factory, likes to connect with a crowd through playful banter.

"When I get up there, I have fun," Benoit said. "I've been doing this for so many years, but I still have a great time."

As a teenager, Benoit picked up the guitar and became immersed in old-school blues.

"I loved John Lee Hooker and B.B. King," Benoit said. "I wanted to learn where rock n' roll came from, and I got into the blues and I never let go."

Benoit has built his audience with solid albums and strong live performance. Benoit has earned critical acclaim and scored a Grammy nomination for his 2006 album, "Brother to the Blues."

"It was interesting being nominated for a Grammy in the traditional blues category when I added some country to that album," Benoit said. "I was a big country fan as a kid. So I put some country on the album and it got nominated for a Grammy. Go figure."

Benoit is old school in another manner. In this age of the one-dimensional employee, Benoit is a renaissance man, who can paint, sculpt and fix the engine of his own tour bus. Benoit is also a pilot, a carpenter and he can cook up a mean Cajun dish. The former kicker at Louisiana State University is also an author.

In 2019, Benoit co-authored a book about the blues and mental health to raise money for the HART Fund, a nonprofit that takes care of medical/mental health expenses for blues musicians who need help.

"To be able to do so many things is normal for me," Benoit said. "Where I come from people are resourceful. We have to be considering hurricanes and everything else. I just do what comes natural to me."