Sometimes I go on faith that the person booking a show knows something I do not. Such was the case recently when I saw Garrett Lebeau at The Extended Play Sessions at the Fallout Shelter.

Garrett Lebeau

Garrett’s name was unfamiliar (sorry, Garrett!) but when I read that he and his current band opened for the fabulous Boz Scaggs at several shows on his tour, that was enough for me to go to the show. I am so glad I did (I enjoyed him so much that I went out to see him at a different venue the following night)!

Garrett Lebeau

The base of Garrett’s music is the blues, but it leans more toward R&B than toward hard, electric blues. He may play an electric guitar, but his style is more gentle than it is shredding. There is also a soulful base to his songs. Garrett may be based in Austin, but I do not think his style is Texas blues.

Ryan Howard, Garrett Lebeau, Ben Geise

His new band is terrific. Ben Geise on bass, Ryan Howard on keyboards, and John Duran on drums comprise the band.

Ben Geise

Ryan Howard

John Duran

I especially enjoyed watching Ben play; most bass players stand to the back of the stage and play without much animation, but Ben is one of the most expressive bass players I have seen. Talking with him after the show, he explained that at least part of the reason for it is that he’s really a guitar player who happens to be playing bass now.

Ben Geise

Ryan is a terrific keys player. There is a lot of funk to his style which suits Garrett’s songs well. Johnny appears to be having the time of his life on the drum kit and provides a solid base.

Ryan Howard

John Duran

Garrett is an interesting person. Half Shoshone, he was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness in Wyoming (talk about a contradiction). He speaks openly about his history, and is a warm and engaging performer.

Garrett Lebeau

A born storyteller, he told us some of what went into the songs and we left feeling that we knew at least a little piece of him.

Garrett Lebeau, Ben Geise

You can purchase his album Rise to the Grind now, and his new album next year when it is released. We heard several songs that will be on the new album and they are lovely.

Garrett Lebeau

As the title of this review states, if you like Boz Scaggs you should love Garrett. I hope he does more touring in the near future so you can see him in a town near you.