2016 Crawfish Boil Bands

            At this year’s DGA Family and Friends crawfish boil, we’ll be featuring two bands: one new, and the other a crawfish boil staple. Benny Turner and the Real Blues have played the crawfish boil before and dazzled us with his showmanship. And we’re also excited to welcome a new band, The Mighty Pelicans, all the way from Austin, Texas.

Benny Turner and the Real Blues featuring Sam Joyner

Benny Turner is a veteran of the New Orleans, Chicago, and Texas blues scenes.  His brother was legendary blues artist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Freddie King. For many years, Benny performed with his brother, but largely stayed out of the spotlight. Over his career, Turner also collaborated or performed with blues legends like Mighty Joe Young, Memphis Slim, Gladys Knight, and Otis Clay. In New Orleans, he worked as the band leader for legendary blues singer Marva Wright. In recent years, Turner formed his own band, The Real Blues.

This will be Turner’s third consecutive year playing at the DGA Crawfish Boil. We’ve liked him so much the past two years we just had to have him back for a third.

The Mighty Pelicans

            Kerry “Kingfish” Blackmon (drums and vocals) and Chuck Doyle, Louisiana natives, first met in college in the 1970s at LSU. In the 1980s, after both men moved to Austin, Texas, they began playing together in blues, R&B, and zydeco bands. Together all with Kerry’s son, Michael and guitarist Johnny Blue, they formed the Mighty Pelicans. While all of the men originally played in a variety of bands, including a zydeco band, in 2011, they committed themselves to the Mighty Pelicans and have been playing in the Austin area ever since.       

           

            The Mighty Pelicans draw from the sounds of New Orleans, but include Cajun and zydeco influences as well. We’re really excited to hear them play at this year’s boil (and we hope you are too).