Today we’d like to introduce you to Beauregard Higgins.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Beauregard. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always had an interest in music and arts from a very young age. I got my first guitar for Christmas when I was 10 years old and started trying to write songs at about 12 or 13. All throughout high school, I was constantly trying to put bands together with my friends and just kept writing and letting a wide variety of music inspire and affect me. I was always drawn to songwriters with powerful lyrics and message such as the great Nashville writers like Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and Johnny Cash. Also being a child of the 80’s I was completely inspired by the incredible performances of The Talking Heads and David Bowie.
In my later teens I fell completely in love with reggae music and the hopeful message of overcoming hardship and adversity it tends to carry. As my writing style developed, I would tend to lean towards a mix of folk style storytelling and reggae influenced rhythm. Flash forward to 2011, with tons of encouragement from close friends and family I released my first record and formed the band Beauregard and the Downright which has had a rotating cast of incredibly talented musicians helping to craft some of the best music I have ever produced.
With the formation of The Downright band, we have had the opportunity to tour the majority of the US market including the Virgin Islands completely independently with a grassroots approach. The support and friendships that have blossomed from DIY touring have been nothing short of overwhelming and the opportunities to grow and see the country from a place of love has been an ever inspiring journey. I’m very grateful to have been able to travel this road on a vessel of original music and with any luck, it will continue to flourish and we can expand to an International market and see the world through music.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In my experience trying to make a living with an art form can sometimes be tumultuous. Of course, there have been ups and downs in the process from struggling to make the right connections and see goals come to fruition, to differences of opinion dictating the progress of the group. Being 100% independent comes with hardships especially out on the road. In my opinion, optimism and a dedicated drive to achieve your goals is a very strong motivator.
Sometimes there is trouble in the water, like unforeseen circumstances of car trouble 1,000 miles from home and only a few hundred dollars in the company account, but perseverance and on your feet problem solving will get you through especially when the team is firing on all cylinders. You have to want something bad enough to suffer through the hardest parts of the process and have the foresight to see beyond the tough times and keep your eye on the goal. I believe there has to be a motivation beyond monetary gain to want to walk through hell to find your own personal heaven and in the end, it’s worth the struggle.
Please tell us about Beauregard and the Downright.
Beauregard and the Downright is a heavy hitting folk, rock, reggae band with a brand of storytelling songs and island style, uplifting vibes. We like to keep an audience dancing and moving along with the oceans of rhythm we create and contemplating on positive community ideas after leaving the show. As a songwriter, I would like to touch the hearts of our listeners with a message to be good to one another because in the end we all collectively affect the progress and environment we are left with.
Community is a big theme with our music, and inspiring the community to be more active with one another and working together for a better tomorrow is, in my opinion, the goal of crafting such material. In a society increasingly growing farther apart from one another due to the difference of opinion and other factors, we would like to inspire people to contribute to the betterment of our communities by working together on sustainable platforms and standing up for each other in the face of tyranny and oppression.
Using a musical platform to follow in the footsteps of incredible thought leaders in the realm such as Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, and Woodie Guthrie is the goal to inspire free thought and progressive attitudes. I would like to entertain the idea that we set ourselves apart by being an inspiration for an audience with lyrical content holding this type of space. We want to allow our listeners to look introspectively and determine what they could do individually to better themselves and their environment.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Oh boy, there are so many influential moments that its hard to narrow down to one, but I would have to say that as a child fortunately social media and a constant connection to technology wasn’t a part of my generation. I was fortunate enough to live in a very forested area in the neighborhood I grew up in.
There where 2 lakes, a huge sinkhole ravine, multiple tributary streams to the yellow river, and tons of waterfalls right in my backyard. I spent most of my time in the forest appreciating these natural wonders in a fairy tale imagination and it helped to shape my love for the natural world and feed my incredibly imaginative mind as a youth.
Contact Info:
- Website: beauregardandthedownright.com
- Email: beauregardmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/bdr_music
- Facebook: facebook.com/beauregardandthedownright
- Twitter: twitter.com/beausnotbombs
- Other: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/steppin-out/1336666509
Image Credit:
Stephanie Heath Photography, Frame In Focus Photography, Dex Desy Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
