Born in New Orleans and raised amidst the industrial environs of Baton Rouge, bluesman Kenny Neal had mastered the guitar, harmonica, and trumpet by age 13. Counting fellow Baton Rouge Parish residents, Slim Harpo and Buddy Guy, as neighbors and peers didn’t hurt his musical education either. Gravitating to the blues as a full-time obsession, Neal would eventually play and share stages with Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Muddy Waters, Aaron Neville, Buddy Guy and John Lee Hooker and establish himself as one of the brightest prospects of the contemporary blues music, which is where he stands today.
Where will Kenny Neal be standing tonight? Try the Parc Sans Souci stage in downtown Lafayette, wrestling twang from his guitar and kicking in happy hour outdoors. Downtown Alive ushers in another weekend of class acts, tonight, Oct. 24 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., roughly.