James Linden Hogg’s dual passions — music and history — merge on stage.
A 21-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Prairieville, Hogg is appearing Friday at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. He previously performed at Jazz Fest in 2014, at the Kids Stage when he was 13. Friday, he’ll play at 4:20 p.m. on the AARP Rhythmpourium Stage.
“I’m honored to be performing again,” Hogg said of his return to Jazz Fest at the Fair Grounds Race Course. “So many great artists appear there.”
The versatile Hogg anticipates playing Celtic, French and American folk music as well as his own compositions. His latest recording, “Glory in the Meeting House,” is an original fiddle tune for which he plays every instrument.
Because Hogg plays so many instruments, he can’t bring them all to his Jazz Fest show. He’ll play only violin, banjo, fife, pennywhistle, piano, guitar, mandolin and bagpipes. His father, veteran musician and radio host Jim Hogg, will provide guitar accompaniment.
Bagpipes, James Linden Hogg said, “is probably the hardest instrument to play. They are hard to tune and, at least with mine, something is always going wrong with them.”
In September, he will release his fifth album. Seven-time Grammy-winning bassist Mark Fain is producing the project and both Fain and Vince Gill band keyboardist Jeff Taylor are playing for it.
James Linden Hogg graduated summa cum laude from LSU in December. A history fan since childhood, he majored in the subject at LSU. His ongoing study of history aligns nicely with his musical interests.
“Much of what I do is geared toward history and historic preservation,” he said. “We live in an age of cultural and historical illiteracy. I find music is one of the best ways to get history out to the public. That’s a way to tell stories.”
The cultural and literary figures Hogg admires include two masterful storytellers, writer and humorist Mark Twain and writer and host of public radio’s long-running “A Prairie Home Companion,” Garrison Keillor.
“So much of the music that we play, as well as the stuff that I write, has to do with stories,” he said. “I love telling stories in the performance. And I consider myself a humorist, like Mark Twain. And we do a lot of humorous songs.”
The younger Hogg cites the prolific documentary filmmaker Ken Burns (“Baseball,” “The Civil War” and the recent “Benjamin Franklin”) as a hero.
“The music in every one of his documentaries is phenomenal,” he said. “I want my album to sound like the soundtrack to Ken Burns’ documentary ‘The National Parks.'"
“James didn’t care to go to Disney World when he was a kid,” his father explained. “He wanted to see where Robert Frost is buried. He wanted to go to Calvin Coolidge’s house. That was our vacation.”
Fascination about the past dovetails with the antique manual typewriter James Linden Hogg writes his original lyrics on.
“It’s kind of romantic to write that way,” he said. “You can have a laptop computer, but it’s nice to have a piece of paper and no blaring light in your eyes. It feels as if you’re etching the words onto the page. It’s really cool — but I do miss the spellcheck.”
The young Hogg’s talents don’t end with singing, composing and playing a roomful of musical instruments. He’s also a skilled impressionist. In a local coffee shop recently, he improvised a debate between U.S. Sen. John Kennedy and political consultant James Carville, moderated by Jim Engster.
“He does it all the time around the house,” Jim Hogg said of his son’s voice talent.
A professional entertainer since childhood, James Linden Hogg nonetheless is just getting started.
“I try to stay as busy as I can with music, booking as many gigs as possible,” he said. “I love to connect with people and see them enjoy the music. That’s the most satisfying thing.”
James Linden Hogg
4:20 p.m. Friday
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, AARP Rhythmpourium Stage
