Soul Food

Dustin Dale Gaspard plays songs to tell his stories

BY JOHN WIRT

Dustin Dale Gaspard makes his Jazz Fest debut this year. It’s a career breakthrough for the soul and swamp pop-inspired singer songwriter from southwest Louisiana. Upon learning he’d be on the Jazz Fest roster, Gaspard felt relieved and grateful. “It was something that I needed in that moment,” he recalled. “I’d been wondering if this whole music thing was going to work out, if I could get a break.”

When Gaspard appears May 5 at the AARP Rhythmpourium Stage, he’ll sing songs from his album debut, Hoping Heaven Got a Kitchen. Dedicated to the Cajun grandparents who raised him in the Vermilion Parish communities of Cow Island and Mouton Cove, the album features 10 emotion-tinged original songs and two torchy swamp-pop classics, “Feed the Flame” and “This Should Go on Forever.”

“It’s big, it’s engulfing,” Gaspard said of the album that pairs his poignant tenor voice with 11 supporting singers and musicians. “But I’m not Lyle Lovett, so I can’t bring an orchestra with me,” he added. Instead, a few supporting players, including harmonica player Paul Piazza and singer Sarah Russo, will join Gaspard at Jazz Fest. “Sarah and I have been arranging the tunes, pulling out the essentials from each song,” he said. “We boiled that down into intimate versions of the songs.”

Inspired by his first visit to an open mic night,

Gaspard started writing songs at 17. By then, he’d already received a good musical education, thanks to his grandfather George “Berton” Lege’s extensive record collection. Lege loved the classic soul of Percy Sledge, Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. He also listened to R&B and swamp pop, Cajun crooner Belton Richard and New Orleans’ Fats Domino. “My grandfather hosted a lot of parties at his house,” Gaspard said. “When people came over, he’d have a bunch of records playing.”

Gaspard’s Jazz Fest debut follows last year’s release of his first album and a sold-out record release show at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. Most of the 11 musicians and singers who contributed to the album joined him on stage at the ACA. Seeing the full house in the theater, Gaspard was almost overcome with emotion.

“I was trembling,” he recalled. “There was a lot riding on that night. I knew when I got up on stage, I couldn’t enjoy the moment as much as I wanted to, because I was on the verge of breaking down. It was [the culmination of] 10 years of heartache and struggle, perseverance and goals accomplished. I stared at the exit sign while I was on stage. That helped me focus.”

Gaspard is reaching for his next breakthrough—a sustainable music career. “Success for me will be doing the music that I want to do,” he said. “If I can travel and play my songs and tell my stories, that’s where I want to be.” O

Friday May 5 at 4:15 p.m.