Grammy award winner Chris Thomas King from ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou’ headlines Bogalusa Blues and Heritage Festival

BOGALUSA, La. (WGNO) — Blues musician Chris Thomas King will headline the 2025 Bogalusa Blues and Heritage Festival.

King is known for his catalog of music, as well as his performances in the movies, “Ray,” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

King has won Grammy awards and Country Music Awards for his work over the years.

The blues lives inside King’s soul.

“I grew up in a jig joint. My dad ran Tabby’s Blues Box and Heritage Hall for 25 years. I grew up as a teenager playing with older blues musicians, so I’ve been doing this since I was knee-high,” King said.

His passion for the blues lead him to the opportunity to play Tommy Johnson in the hit 2000 film, “O Brother, Where Art Thou.”

“The film introduced me to a wider popular audience. It was an amazing series of events,” he said.

Meet the 2023 Bogalusa Blues Festival poster artist

King wants everyone to understand the true meaning of the blues.

“That brings me to my book. My book is called: “The Blues: The Authentic Narrative of Music and Culture,” he said.

King explained that blues music is not depressing or down in the dumps music as some may believe.

He said blues comes from Basin Street and the Old Storyville District in New Orleans.

“Blues is blue entertainment so real blues started in New Orleans and is a vice. It is something sexy, it is Saturday night party music. It is vice music. You wouldn’t be depressed on a a Saturday night. It doesn’t make sense for our culture. We don’t even do that at funerals. Blues came from Louisiana and came from New Orleans. Blues music found its voice in Storyville, with the women of Storyville, along with the musicians who invented the blues, the rest is history,” he said.

This Grammy award winner feels through understanding the blues, you’ll feel the true blues.

“It’s important for us to tell these stories, and get back to the roots of what it is meant for us,” he said.

King said he’s excited to be headlining the Bogalusa Blues and Heritage Festival.

“The thing people need to know when they come to Bogalusa Festival and they hear my band, we’re going to be rocking out. There’s nothing sad about it. It’s party music,” he said.

The Bogalusa Blues and Heritage Festival takes place Sept. 26 and Sept. 27.

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