AC23+ - Artist Legacy Series of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge

Mike Esneault speaks and plays music with sensational blues guitarist, vocalist, composer and band leader, DK Harrell. Fresh off his 2026 Blues Music Award wins in two categories, “Contemporary Blues Album” as well as “Album of the Year”, DK and Mike had a great time playing some of his songs and discussing his incredible rise in the blues world, his formative years growing up in Louisiana, and li...

Mike Esneault speaks with former New York Broadway actress veteran of 25 years, jewelry artist, business coach and Baton Rouge Arts Market manager Ana Andricain. They conversed about many things including her amazing performing career as well as her successful jewelry business, Jewel of Havana. Additionally, they discussed her role as manager of the BR Arts Market for the Arts Council of GBR and t...

Mike Esneault speaks with John Wirt. John is a music, arts and entertainment journalist and critic, author of the book “Huey “Piano” Smith and the Rocking Pneumonia Blues” and a guitarist. John has written thousands of music and movie stories and reviews for newspapers and magazines — mostly in Louisiana, Florida and Virginia. He was a staff writer at The (Baton Rouge) Advocate for 23 years and fr...

Mike Esneault speaks with multi-disciplinary artists Sariah Sizemore and Taylor Matherne about “Honey Gold”. This is an immersive audiovisual and sound healing experience that blends live vocals, gongs, crystal singing bowls, and string instruments with projection-mapped visuals to create a restorative, contemplative journey Mike discusses with the artists various topics including the pre-producti...

Mike Esneault speaks and plays music with international bassist, Louisiana native, and long time friend Roland Guerin. They talk about Roland’s incredible career touring and recording with jazz legends such as Marcus Roberts, Brian Blade, Mark Whitfield, Ellis Marsalis, etc. as well as New Orleans legends Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack, Allen Toussaint and rock guitarist Paul Gilbert, to name just a few...

Mike Esneault speaks and plays music with New Orleans guitar legend Steve Masakowski. The two discuss Steve’s brilliant career as a guitarist, composer, inventor and educator at the university level. In addition, they talk about Steve’s formative years, growing up in the rich cultural environment of New Orleans and the city’s influence on him musically.

Mike Esneault interviews poet, author, and president of the Poetry Society of Louisiana, Ed Ruzicka today. They discuss the release of Ed's new book "The Invention of Dreaming" and the inspirations for writing this new collection of poetry. They also touch on various subjects as they relate to the creative process and the arts industry.

Mike Esneault speaks and plays music with NOLA legendary bassist Mark Brooks. They talked about his upbringing in a musically rich New Orleans family. Mike asked him about many things including the importance of his early deep grounding in Gospel music and the impact it has had on his musical life working in all genres of music. They touched as well on various aspects of being a professional freel...

Mike Esneault talks with Grammy award winning drummer, composer, arts administrator, educator and producer, Adonis Rose. They talk about his extensive touring career with jazz greats including Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves, and many more. They also talk about his rich musical upbringing in New Orleans as well as his tenure as Artistic Director for the New Orleans J...

Mike Esneault talks and plays music with musician and entrepreneur Jim Odom. In addition to being the guitarist for Louisiana’s iconic band LeRoux, Jim is an audio engineer, composer and entrepreneur best known for co-founding PreSonus Audio Electronics with Brian Smith in 1995, a company that became a global leader in affordable digital audio recording equipment for home studios and professionals...

Mike Esneault converses with New York City premiere bassist and long time friend, John Hébert. He and John talked about his formative years growing up and learning music in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and then New York City. John has worked with some of the premiere jazz artists of our time including Fred Hersch, Andrew Hill, Lee Konitz, Paul Bley, John Abercrombie, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Motian, and ma...

Mike Esneault converses with Dr. Stephen Futrell, Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at Elon University in North Carolina. They discuss his extensive career not only as a collegiate professor, but also his versatile career as a studio musician and live performer in multiple genres of music including jazz, R&B, etc.

Mike Esneault converses with legendary New Orleans drummer Johnny Vidacovich. Johnny has worked with such luminaries as Bobby McFerrin, Mose Allison, James Booker, Professor Longhair, John Scofield and many many more. Vidacovich is also an original member of the iconic New Orleans jazz group Astral Project. As an educator, former students include Brian Blade, Stanton Moore just to name a few. I as...

Mike Esneault talks with composer Clint English “Monoblack”, visual artist Nathaniel A.J. Landry, and curator Keidrick “Sensei” Alford about the multi sensory exhibit “The Monsters We Sometimes Become”. This exhibit is to be featured at the Manship Theatre Gallery in June 2026. They discuss the blending of Landry’s visual art with Monoblack’s original compositions written for each art piece. They...

Mike Esneault talks with Founder and Artistic Director of 225 Theatre Collective, Stephanie Calero. They discuss the many programs the organization is producing including Live Painting Events, Improv Performances, Comedy Shows, Louisiana Theatre Festival and many other programs.

Mike Esneault talks with New Orleans/Baton Rouge native and New York based visual artist, David Bruner. They discuss his current exhibit at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center as well as his work process and concepts when creating collage, pencil/graphite, stain glass, photography as well as painting. In addition, they touch on various aspects of teaching, the value of mentorships, and also Dav...

Mike Esneault plays music and talks with Tower of Power tenor saxophonist Tom Politzer. They talk about his musical upbringing in a family of opera lovers, starting on clarinet, and then his life in music including touring with Tower of Power for 22 years.

Mike Esneault talks and plays music with Baton Rouge music icon Henry Turner Jr. They talk about his long career as a touring performer in the blues genre as well as other genres. They also discuss the many other ventures he has been involved in within the music business community and Baton Rouge community.

Mike Esneault plays music and talks with internationally renowned drummer, composer, educator and clinician, Leon Anderson. In addition to playing a couple of tunes (with Bill Grimes on bass), they talk about his formative years learning to play music and then his very active career as a performing artist throughout the world with artists such as Ellis Marsalis, Marcus Roberts and more, as well as...

Mike Esneault talks with Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Marshall Carby. They discuss many different topics including Marshall's upbringing in Texas, his deep Louisiana roots, as well as the many different components of leading the BRSO and continuing its rich legacy in the Baton Rouge community.

Mike Esneault converses with long time friend and colleague Jeff Ford. Jeff has worked in audio post-production as a producer, song writer, film composer, and audio engineer for over 30 years, producing audio for commercials, films, live productions, studio albums, etc. They discuss the nature of working in the industry and also how this landscape has changed over the years.

Mike Esneault interviews and plays music with blues legend Kenny Neal for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’s “AC23+ Artist Legacy Series”. Kenny and Mike talked about his extensive international solo career as well as his work with Buddy Guy, Big Mamma Thornton, BB King, and many more. They also talked about the legacy of his father, blues legend Raful Neal, growing up in the talented Neal...

Mike Esneault converses with saxophonist, composer/arranger, band leader and music industry business owner, Russ Bryant for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’s AC23+ Artist Legacy Series podcast. They discussed his formative years as a developing musician as well as the multifaceted career he has had as a professional in the music industry. In addition, They played some of Russ's original mu...

Original Air Date 9/24/2025: Mike Esneault talks with Andreasen about his long standing tenure as Baton Rouge Gallery President/CEO and all of the outstanding programing the gallery has consistently offered the Baton Rouge community. They also touch on various aspects of arts administration and many of the different challenges for artists in today's landscape.

Mike Esneault talks and plays with legendary saxophonist Bob Sheppard about his extensive career as a touring musician with such artists as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, and many more. They also discuss his career as a session musician on countless Los Angeles film scoring sessions along with other topics related to his development and life in music.