Tab Benoit plays Tampa Bay Bluesfest at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg, Florida on April 9, 2017. Credit: Tracy May
Last year, bluesman Tab Benoit defied all odds and performed for 296 socially distanced fans at Jannus Live. And when vaccines became available and COVID-19 restrictions calmed down, he returned twice more to more full audiences. Then, in January of this year, we saw the 55-year-old bayou boy behind “These Arms of Mine” take on another Jannus gig.

It’s hard to get sick of ol’ Tab, and it’s remarkable to think that there are probably at least a few people who will have seen him live five times over the course of almost two years by the time this Thursday, Dec. 1 show from Benoit at the Tampa Theatre with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band ends.

In short, nothing takes the place of him.

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This article appears in Nov 17-23, 2022.

Josh Bradley is Creative Loafing Tampa's resident live music freak. He started freelancing with the paper in 2020 at the age of 18, and has since covered, announced, and previewed numerous live shows in...