Born just outside Lafayette, Louisiana DWIGHT JAMES leads a real double life. By day he works full-time as a service agent for a car rental company at the Lafayette airport. Every day he gets down and dirty scrubbing cars, pumping tyres and filling petrol tanks. By night and in his free time he works long and hard celebrating his Louisiana/Creole musical heritage!
You see young Dwight fronts his own remarkable band – the ROYALS (Blake Pujol (guitar), Edward Paul Coussan (bass), Gino Vallecillo (drums), Mikey Chouest (keys), and Denise “That Beast” Gobert (background vocals/aux percussion).
Through his music Dwight attempts to use the soul, Zydeco and R&B sounds of yesteryear to craft a contemporary take on Louisiana heritage music
Earlier this year Dwight James and The Royals fronted Lafayette’s Festival International’s 2018 official Kick Off party. It was there where the group launched their first extended play, titled ‘Need Your Loving.’ The set’s title track is a moody, broody four minutes worth of authentic southern soul flooded with Cajun guitar and Muscle Shoals flavoured brass. Expect a surprising mood change half way through! ‘Waiting All Day’ is another nostalgia-fired homage to southern soul as it was and you’ll hear more of the same across the mini album’s other three cuts.
If you despair that “authentic” music has gone by the wayside, you could do worse than check out Dwight James and the Royals. Do so @ www.facebook.com/DwightJamesandTheRoyals/
