A year after historic flooding engulfed the John Schneider Studios in Livingston Parish, Schneider is reopening the film and music facilities.
Famous for playing Bo Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard series, the actor and singer is announcing the studios’ return with a concert. He’ll perform Friday, Aug. 4, with his band, the Cajun Navy.
The concert is set for 7 p.m. at the John Schneider Studios, 16050 Florida Blvd. in Holden. Tickets are $50 and available on Eventbrite.
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Schneider’s Friday set list includes country hits he recorded in the 1980s and songs from his flood-inspired album, Ruffled Skirts. The album’s title refers to the skirts that hang beneath mobile homes. Following the March and August floods in Livingston Parish, Schneider says, “everywhere you looked there was a ruffled skirt.”
The flooding inspired Schneider to make a serious return to music after 25 years of singing occasionally for fun.
“The flood washed my guitar back into my hands,” he says. “That’s why I can say that, in many regards, I’m better off because of the flood. Music is one of the things it brought back in my life.”
After the floods, Schneider wrote songs for the first time. He’d previously recorded songs composed by other writers, featuring lyrics he related to. Disaster gave him experiences from which he could write his own words and music.
“To sing the blues, you actually have to live the blues,” he says. “Well, these songs are more than songs. These are stories that I’ve lived. From a performer’s standpoint, these are the best songs I’ve ever had anything to do with. I hope the audience will agree.”
Schneider’s original songs, co-written with Scott Innis, Phil Redrow and Clifton Brown, include “How Do You Stop the Water?”, “The Cajun Navy” and “The FEMA Song.” The Ruffled Skirts album also features his rendition of the Johnny Cash flood classic, “Five Feet High and Rising.”
The “Five Feet High and Rising” lyrics strike home for Schneider. After dealing with the damage caused by the March 2016 flood, he saw the water rise even higher mere months later in August.
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“Not only was the water everywhere it was in March, it was sometimes four and five feet higher,” he says.
Schneider found a silver lining in the losses he and his neighbors endured.
“I lived a lot of years in Los Angeles,” he says. “If there’s one thing you find very little of in Los Angeles, it’s compassion, empathy. So, I was impressed with the folks here. It was an amazing time when people came together and helped one another. A unity forms during a disaster among those who stay and survive. I think our souls are a little bit better for it.”