Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
The impressive lineup for the inaugural Boots on the Bayou Festival this weekend in Gonzales reads like a who's who of contemporary country music — Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Parker McCollum and Riley Green. Louisiana is representing as well, with rising artist and "American Idol" runner-up John Foster also on the Friday night bill. Foster is fresh off a homecoming concert last week in Plaquemine; the release of a new single, "Little Goes a Long Way,"; and a benefit appearance in Minnesota on Monday where he rubbed elbows with Elton John and Kevin Costner. "I really commend the organizers of Boots on the Bayou for making one of what I think is one of the coolest concerts Louisiana's had in a really long time," Foster said. "The fact that they were able to put Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban and Riley Green and Parker McCullough and so many others on the same festival in Louisiana, like 45 minutes from my house, is incredible." Although not part of the original lineup, Urban is pinch-hitting for Texas singer-songwriter Cody Johnson, whose recent surgery to repair a ruptured eardrum will put him out of commission for the rest of the year. "Of course, we wish 'Cojo' could've made it, but as a singer, I know that those health issues come first. Because you never wanna do permanent damage to yourself," Foster, 19 and an Addis native, said. "But Keith Urban, I mean, he's a global superstar and he's hopefully gonna bring just as much crowd." Foster added that he's "super excited" to perform at the outdoor festival Friday-Saturday at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. "To be a part of the lineup, to have my name among the names of, you know, Chris Stapleton and whatnot is a super big honor," he said. "And of course it's always a pleasure and an honor to share the stage with Chase Tyler, our local country star around here. … It's always a pleasure to go and sit in with him for a couple tunes." The Boots lineup also includes Carly Pearce, Marcus King Band, Elle King, Tyler Braden, Ashley Cooke, The Kruse Brothers, Maddox Batson and others. Foster will be bringing his newest vehicle — a tour bus — to the festival. "I hope to travel in it as much as I can because if you ever travel on a bus like that, it spoils you," he said. "Just driving like from my house to anywhere in Baton Rouge, I was always thinking, 'Man, I wish I was on a bus right now just sitting on the couch and not have to worry about driving.' So for sure you'll see it down there." Foster has seen a lot of the road since the "Idol" finale in May, crisscrossing the country and sometimes having to ask a busmate which city they're in. "It's really great though because I get the opportunity to travel to places that I probably would've never traveled to if I didn't do this line of work. I take that as a blessing for sure," he said. Festivalgoers in Gonzales can expect to hear Foster's "Little Bit," an up-tempo, fun tune described as "honky tonk-ready." It's his first new release in a year. "So it was just so refreshing to finally have new material that my audience and my followers can enjoy and that I can enjoy playing on stage," Foster said. "I really hope that people catch on to it and see just how hard we all worked on it and how excited we are. I hope that they feel that too." Foster spent a good deal of time working on the new music with songwriters Bart Butler, Corey Crowder and Deric Ruttan. "So this is one of those great situations where the artistry comes in the interpretation. So I'm somebody who firmly believes that there's a lot of artistry in song interpretation," he explained. "So even if you didn't write something, taking that song, interpreting it and implying it to your lifestyle is just as beautiful sometimes as writing it." Foster has so much going on that he almost forgot to mention the aforementioned Minnesota gig where he joined Sir Elton John and Costner in Minneapolis for the Starkey Hearing Foundation gala this week. The intimate, black-tie evening aids the foundation's mission "to give the gift of hearing to those in need, empowering them to achieve their potential," according to its website.
