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

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

by Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge

Performing Arts Music Interviews

AC23+ Artist Legacy Series E40 James Fogle - Musician and Arts Industry Business Owner

Mike Esneault converses with James Fogle, for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’s AC23+ Artist Legacy Series podcast. James is the owner of Mid City Ballroom, Baton Rouge Music Exchange and Pop Shop Records. Through these ventures as well as his work as a musician/performer, James has greatly enriched the Baton Rouge arts community. They discussed this as well as other topics related to being an artist in the Greater Baton Rouge area for over the last 40+ years.

AC23+ Artist Legacy Series E39 Chris LeBlanc

Original air date 9/2/2025 Mike Esneault talks and plays music with Louisiana Music Hall of Fame performer and song writer Chris LeBlanc. They discuss Chris' formative years growing up in a musical family in South Louisiana as well as being influenced by the blues and many other genres of music that he heard and played in his home town of Baton Rouge. In addition, they play three of Chris' original songs.

AC23+ Artist Legacy Series Ep 38 Rob Payer - Radio Personality, Educator, Musician

Original air date 8/28/2025: Mike Esneault talks with radio personality, educator and musician, Rob Payer. They discuss Rob's history in radio, particularly as it relates to Baton Rouge Magnet High School and their long-standing radio educational program and his role as program director. In addition, they discuss many other topics including the rich musical heritage of South Louisiana, preserving that heritage through education, as well as Rob's work as a performing musician.

AC23+ Dr. Sean Joffrion - East Baton Rouge- Director of Fine Arts

Original air date 8/15/2025: Mike Esneault converses with East Baton Rouge- Director of Fine Arts, Dr. Sean Joffrion. They discuss the artistic environment and support of Joffrion's formative years and how this helped instill his deep love of the arts moving forward. They also converse on various topics including the importance of arts education as well as arts integration and the role it can play in a person's artistic and academic development.

AC23+ Artist Legacy Series E36 David Hinson

Original air date 8//1/2025: Mike Esneault talks and performs with Baton Rouge music icon David Hinson. They discuss his extensive career as a performer and educator in the greater Baton Rouge area. They touch on his experiences working in a wide array of musical genres, including orchestral music, jazz and rock, etc. as well as his thoughts and techniques on educating music students of all ages, including students in his long-running Adult Music Club.

AC23+ Artist Legacy Series E35 Shamira Cummings

Mike Esneault talks with dance artist and owner of "For the Love of Dance", Shamira Cummings. They talk about her formative years learning the art of dance, the education of students at her dance studio, her work with the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge as well as various dance programs that she has created over the years for the Greater Baton Rouge community.

AC23+ Artist Legacy Series E34 Patrick Bordelon

Original Air Date 7/21/2025: The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge's Mike Esneault plays music and talks with guitarist, composer and music educator, Patrick Bordelon. The two discuss Patrick's love of Django Reinhardt and gypsy jazz as well as many other topics including life as a working professional musician and educator.

AC23+ Artist Legacy Series E33 Harry Anderson and Darrell Roberson of SU's Digital Media Arts Program

Original Air Date 7/9/2025: Mike Esneault talks with Southern University Professors Harry Anderson and Darrell Roberson about the launch of SU's Digital Media Arts Program. This new degree program features the following concentration tracks: Digital Screen Arts Production, Digital Performance Fusion, Visual Arts and Motion Graphics, Digital Sports Production and Recording Arts. They discuss the origins and the vision of this exciting new degree program!

AC23+ Artist Legacy Series E32 Mike Weary

Mike Esneault talks with the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge's Artist in Residence and Artist Liaison, Mike Weary. They discuss various aspects of being a professional freelance visual artist as well as Mike's experiences working as an arts administrator, educator and gallery curator.

AC23 Artist Legacy Series E31 BJ and Kim Smith

Original Air Date: 6/27/2025 -Mike Esneault speaks with visual artist BJ Smith, and his mother Kim Smith, about BJ's 20-year ongoing journey surviving a severe brain injury accident. They discuss the power of the arts as healer and how BJ's passion for being a visual artist has had a profound impact on his positive development.

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