Signature: John Hale Burns

Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, the Who. You name Baton Rouge’s legendary concerts, and John Burns was there. The veteran furniture importer has been enamored with rock’n’roll since his teens, when he tried to see Jimi Hendrix at Independence Hall and his mother shot him down. In 1971, Burns’ first concert was Cat Stevens at the same venue. Years later he and wife Lisa named their daughter Allison after the hit Elvis Costello ballad.

Since the success of Christian Street Furniture, Burns has had more time and resources to devote to music. Unlike those of his middle-aged contemporaries, his collection doesn’t end in 1978. He owns a condo in New Orleans’ Bywater, and he frequents hot Frenchmen Street venues like d.b.a. and The Spotted Cat. He scours the Web for new artists and albums to download. He discovered Spoon and Vampire Weekend through his Pilates instructor, and the clerks at Compact Disc Store turned him onto Fleet Foxes and Kaki King.

Age: 52

Hometown: New Orleans

Occupation: Owner, Christian Street Furniture

Burns’ iPhone is loaded with Radiohead and the White Stripes, but he loves the traditional organ-and-choir hymns at his church, First Methodist, too, and encounters exotic new sounds while buying furniture across the globe. Bali music is a recent favorite.

Last year and this year Burns has made sure to purchase his Grand Marshal VIP passes for Jazz Fest, putting him front and center for the action. It’s the diversity that appeals to him. He grooved to DJ duo Thievery Corporation at Voodoo Fest last October.

But it is all about the music for Burns. He’ll go for an entire weekend. All day, every day. Jazz Fest’s lauded cuisine? “That just slows me down, honestly,” Burns says. Lisa will festival-hop with him, but only on occasion. Usually he gears up with sandals and a T-shirt, studies the schedule, plots his detailed, zigzag trajectory and goes it alone.

“You want to enjoy Jazz Fest with someone you love, but not everyone is up for the intensity of an entire weekend,” Burns says. “No one can keep up with me. I want to see it all.”

Click here for more Signatures.