Marc Broussard Announces “Chance Worth Taking”, An All-Original Blues Soul Album

Produced by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith alongside Calvin Turner, the stunning 14-track collection reunites Broussard with Bonamassa, who takes the helm to contribute master fretwork and mesmerizing guitar solos on 10 tracks, including three songs co-written with Broussard. This stellar creative circle is rounded out by Josh Smith, who features on and co-wrote four tracks, and Calvin Turner, who joined forces with Broussard to co-write 10 of the album’s original songs and contributes to the album’s lush string and horn arrangements.

Today, Broussard offers the first taste of the album with two lead singles – “No More” a sweeping cinematic blues ballad framing Broussard’s yearning vocal with stately strings and Bonamassa’s soaring guitar. “Fever” delivers a slinky, modern roadhouse groove, driven by funky rhythm guitars, punchy horns, Smith’s stinging leads, and an insistent beat. These tracks serve as a powerful introduction to the album’s range, blending blistering guitar work with Broussard’s signature vocal grit.

Though Chance Worth Taking marks a stylistic pivot, it remains unmistakably Broussard. His signature “bayou soul” vocal, equal parts grit and grace, anchors the album, tying together brawny shuffles, pleading soul-blues, horn-driven blues-rock, and Mardi Gras–infused funk.

The album’s origin began when Turner proposed an album of original blues material and sent Broussard a folder of 15 instrumentals. Broussard then wrote lyrics as if possessed. “I would wake up at 6:00 a.m. and write until 11:00 p.m. I’d be in the studio sweating like a madman,” he recalls. The songs were finished in three manic days and refined in the studio with Bonamassa.

“I’m still more versed in soul music than in blues, but I’m getting an education in the genre and its history from Joe and Josh,” Broussard explains. “When we got into the studio, Joe wasn’t fully convinced we had a blues album, so he added to the songs we already had, and we wrote three others together. In the end, we got to the promised land.” 

There is a sense of free-spirited discovery on Chance Worth Taking, with Broussard exploring a wide emotion and stylistic palette – from big-band, B.B. King-style arrangements on the jaunty, swinging “Let Me Take You Out Tonight” and the horn-riff-driven “Blame,” which boasts tasty, masterful improvisational interplay among Bonamassa, Smith, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Reese Wynans and the ‘80s-inspired ballad, “These Walls” with Bonamassa in rare form, soloing with a fire that’s both cinematic and pyrotechnic.  Fans of classic Broussard will rejoice in the soul ballads “Chance Worth Taking,” with its gospel-tinged chorus, and “Sweet Love,” a timeless ballad complete with sumptuous harmonies and sweeping strings. The album concludes on a New Orleans send-off with the brassy, booty-shaking “Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler,” a song co-written by Trombone Shorty and Broussard.

Broussard is ready to unveil Chance Worth Taking, introducing fans to both the new album and a fresh era of inspired creativity. “Man, I’m so excited about it all. It’s time for me to move into my bluesman phase. At this stage of my life, I’m all about it.”

Chance Worth Taking is the second collaboration by the Broussard-Bonamassa team, building on the synergy of their 2023 release SOS 4 Blues for Your Soul, a masterful collection of blues and soul classics that debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Blues Album Chart.