Cover photo © 2026 Marilyn Stringer
It’s not always easy for non-musicians to tell a good drummer from a great one. Great drummers do more than just maintain the steady rhythm that provides the foundation for the other band members. In his 2015 article, Evan MacHattie pointed out that great drummers “know when to fill spaces creatively and when to let things breathe, demonstrating maturity and understanding of the song’s needs”. But they tend to do all of that in a subtle way, without overpowering others. So, when a drummer is truly great, he or she may go unnoticed. Occasionally, however, a drummer is so great that even those with no real knowledge of drumming know that they are hearing something special. Terence Higgins is one of those drummers. It’s no wonder that he is Tab Benoit’s first choice for a drummer and has been sought after to play with such greats as the Warren Haynes Band, Gov’t Mule, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, John Scofield, Ani Difranco and many others, and has been listed on the billing for special events such as the Take Me to the River documentary, The Last Waltz 40 tour, and Elvis Presley’s All- Star Tribute on NBC. Blues Blast Magazine had the opportunity to catch up with Terence recently via a video call.
Terence was born in New Orleans and raised by his grandmother after the tragic loss of his biological mother in a domestic violence incident. Sadly, his great-grandfather (who gave him his first drum) was also killed in that incident trying to protect his mother. But Terence seems to try to focus on the positive aspects of his life.
“I haven’t really talked much about my mother’s passing in interviews but it’s something that’s been with me for most of my life. Fortunately, my brother and I were in a safe place when the incident occurred, and I thank God for my grandmother, Mrs. Frances Colar. She was a beacon of light and a pillar of strength to get our family through that dark time. I am forever grateful that she took my brother and I in as her own. She did a really great job at raising us after already raising her own kids, my uncles and aunt. She was ‘mom’ from then on. My great-grandfather was from Belize. I don’t know if he played the drums or just had an affinity for the instrument, but he gave me my first introduction to the instrument via a set of bongos as a birthday gift when I was four years old, and I’ve been playing ever since.”
Terence received some formal music lessons through his school but noted that the most valuable lessons came from musicians in the community.
“I used to set up boxes, pots and pans and construct makeshift drum sets in the backyard even before I received my first real drum set, I would use whatever I could to build a drum set. We had one family friend who lived right across the street and his doors were never locked. When he would leave on his motorcycle, my little brother and I would sneak into his house and play his drums while he was away. We would take turns keeping a watch out for him to return so we wouldn’t get busted. Later he would tell us, ‘I know y’all were in my house’. But he didn’t seem to mind. After all of that it came time for me to get my own drums. My grandmother was friends with several musicians in the community, so she asked her good friend, New Orleans drumming legend Mr. Freddie Kohlman, about a drum set that he had previously offered, and that led to my first drum set. I would set those drums up in the backyard and play all day long. We lived in Algiers, on the Westbank of New Orleans, just underneath the GNO bridge. So, the natural reverb would project the sound for miles, and it was loud. My grandmother would close all of her doors and windows to the house and turn on the AC and TV so she wouldn’t have to listen to me bang on the drums all day. But she never complained or told me to stop that noise. Later I had some formal lessons when I joined the school band, and that’s where I learned to read music. But drumming came naturally to me–something deep within me. Even today I feel like my natural ability in tandem with my experiences enhances my formal skill set. New Orleans is known for its great drumming legacy and back then, drummers in the community would stop by as I was practicing in the back yard and show me things. Once they realized I had something special, they would take me under their wing as big brothers and mentors. They would ask my grandmother if they could take me to see other famous drummers perform or take me to the local drum shop to look around. It was a cool nurturing brotherhood that I found in the older drummers that became great friends. My grandmother was a very special lady. She would do everything she could to get us what we needed. I remember an opportunity to join The US Collegiate Wind Band for high school students who would tour Europe every summer. But it costs a pretty penny to send your kid to travel in Europe for the summer. She worked her fingers to the bone to get the funds to get me into that program.”
Terence also made the McDonald’s All-American Band, which was so competitive that only two students from each state were accepted.
“The year that I auditioned for the McDonald’s All-American High School Band, there were five thousand applicants from the State of Louisiana alone, and they only choose two students from each state per year, so the competition was fierce. The other guy that was accepted from Louisiana that year was Marlon Jordan, who was Wynton Marsalis’ protégé at that time. The band was under the direction of Dr. William P. Foster of Florida’s A&M University, where I was offered a scholarship to attend. However, I didn’t accept the offer and enrolled into Southern University in Baton Rouge instead. I studied for a few years before getting into gigging and touring. Yesterday I went to the funeral of the first guy who hired me, jazz violinist Michael Ward. I met him at the University where my name was getting around, and I came highly recommended to him. We played in all the hot spots and little clubs in the neighborhoods In New Orleans at that time, way before Frenchman street was a thing. From that gig I really cut my teeth on playing with different professional local and touring musicians who would stop in and jam. That was the best experience I had. That experience set me on a lifelong path”
Terence’s first band was an alternative rock band called Func Haus.
“The band Func Haus was a local alternative rock power trio that played around the Baton Rouge area. It was around in the early ‘90s and put out a few CD’s and eventually played New Orleans and a few regional van tours. That was the first original singer/song writing band experience that really set me up for everything that I do today. I draw from that experience all the time. That’s where Tab (Benoit) first saw me. Tab said he always wanted me in his band after seeing me around Baton Rouge with Func Haus.”
“While I was still cutting my teeth and building a reputation as a young drummer from New Orleans, I got word that George Porter Jr. of the Meters was in the market for a drummer with his band The Runnin’ Pardners, and my name came up. So, I invited George to a Func Haus show at Tipitina’s to check me out. I guess from that show he was able to hear great potential in my playing. He asked me to come over for a little audition, so I went. He had heard all he needed to hear within the confines of that show, but we weren’t playing any shuffles that night, so he said, ‘let’s play a shuffle’. Little did he know that I had already been playing blues on Bourbon Street at the A Bar with Mark Adams a few nights a week, so a shuffle was an easy request for me at that time. We played a few different shuffle feels, and then he said, ‘man you got the gig!’. He gave me some cassette tapes and said the tour starts next week. So, I had a week to learn the songs, with no rehearsals. As I was trying to learn the Runnin’ Pardners repertoire, my Walkman slowly started eating the cassette tapes. I kid you not–there were some songs on the tapes that I never got to hear. But we got through the first set of shows on the tour. I had to just trust and follow my instincts at that point, and it went great. By the third or fourth gig, the team said, ‘thumbs up on him’. We had such a cool rapport. After that tour, George had me playing with Earl King Snooks Eaglin and just dove in the deep end of the New Orleans song book. We wound up doing a big West Coast tour, but that ended up being my last tour with George because I got a call from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. They were looking for a drummer because they were making the transition from the traditional marching band style brass band into a more of a full stage band with drum set, guitar and keyboards. I was invited to audition and ended up landing the gig. I hated having to go to George and say I was taking the Dirty Dozen gig, but the Dirty Dozen Brass Band opened so many more doors for me. They were doing more national and international tours and festivals all over the world, so I was getting great exposure. And it was on a slightly higher profile for me at that point. I was totally sold on their itinerary. We were on tours with the likes of Widespread Panic, The Black Crows, Dave Matthews Band, Midas Mouse, and all the jazz greats. I could really be me and develop all my musical sensibilities in one group as well as put a stamp on my take of New Orleans style drumming. When you are playing with a brass brand there are so many personalities that you can get lost and wonder if anyone even sees the drummer. But I think I stood out. Certain musicians would come up to me and say they loved what I was doing with the band. My vision was to do something different, and I think I made a little footprint in that world, I hear a lot of younger drummers on the scene today playing a lot of the ideas I was putting down back then and giving me props. I was always playing with different artists and developing and cultivating other musical relationships outside of DDBB. So, I played with as many artists from New Orleans as I could, during that time I would be out with Jon Cleary, Bonerama, The Wild Magnolias, Treme Brass Band, and even got to play with Johnny Adams and Fats Domino. Basically, I was first call for nearly every gig out of New Orleans at that time. Then I started getting national attention with calls from artists like Karl Denson, Charlie Hunter, and John Scofield. It was great learning their repertoire and stepping outside of the New Orleans thing for a minute. “I even got a call to work with Billionaire philanthropist co-founder of Microsoft Paul Allen privately that led to other business ventures in music with my drum sample library catalog.”
“One time, while I was still working with the DDBB. I was scheduled to play The Warren Haynes Christmas jam and sit in with his band for a set to support the new Man in Motion record. I eventually landed the tour with The Warren Haynes Band for the Man in Motion tour in 2011 -2012. That was a great experience for me working with Warren. It instantly took me back to my Func Haus days. I think he picked up on my vast musical sensibilities and my ability to interpret songs. We had great chemistry and a great tour. After the WHB tour I was basically between gigs after recommending so many younger drummers to sub for me at all of the local gigs that I was doing prior to the WHB tour. But I felt like I had ascended to a different level, so I amicably parted ways with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band after 17 years.”
“Then one day, out of the blue, I received a phone call from Ani Difranco’s manager expressing interest in me perhaps joining her trio. This had come about due to the recommendation from my good friend, Ivan Neville, who was also one of the guys who put my name in the hat for the Warren Haynes Band. I had heard Ani’s music from a friend who was a big fan, and I was thinking to myself I would love to work with her, kind of like speaking it into existence. And it happened. I got the gig after jamming with her at her home in New Orleans. We hit it off immediately, and I understood where she was coming from musically. We toured for about a year, but then she was having a kid, and so was I. So, she decided to take a year off in 2013. And then I finally got the call from my old friend, Tab Benoit. It was so many years after we met in the late 80’s or early 90’s in Baton Rouge, playing blues jams at Tabby’s Blues Box and gigs around LSU. It finally happened, and now a lot of blues fans identify me as Tab’s drummer. I had one stipulation for working with Tab, and that was that I still got to work with Ani, and he agreed. Tab is very picky, but he has so much trust in what I bring—in my ability to be the glue. When I’m there, Tab don’t care—he’ll can just pull stuff off because he’s so confident that we will rebound. And I love the chemistry we have as a trio. I don’t know how we do it, but it is a special connection. Also, the hang is good. We play golf and go bowling and cook gumbo on the tour bus. The fellowship and brotherhood are real. There was this stretch where Tab was playing drums with the opening act and he would use my drum kit. His foot went through my kick drum head a few times, and he broke a few of my cymbals. It got to the point where I kindly requested that he bring his own drums. He was fine with that. He’s a great drummer, and I think I have influenced and inspired his drumming in many ways.”
Terence has played with Ani DiFranco and Tab Benoit simultaneously over the last 12 years, but he had many opportunities to collaborate with others during breaks in their touring schedules. He discussed how he met the legendary Don Was.
“So, Warren and I had kept in touch after his Man in Motion tour, and this company, Blackbird Presents, was producing a series of special tribute shows. One was going to be a Last Waltz 40th anniversary celebration in New Orleans during jazz fest. They had some other drummers in mind, but Warren was involved and he thought I was the right fit for the show. We wound up doing a weekend at Jazz Fest, and it was a hit, which led to a tour and getting Robbie Robertson involved. I credit Warren, and his wife Stef, for strategically placing me with Don Was. And the rest is history. When you win the trust of a major cat like Don Was, you feel like you have arrived. I enjoyed working on that level of production and playing with artists of all genres, in any style. After a few other shows with Don I felt I had really won his trust. He then gave me a bigger assignment, which was working on the Elvis Presley special on NBC. I had never really done any big Hollywood TV production before, and this was another type of experience. I remember walking into Studio A in Capital Records and I was super nervous. But Don has a way of making you feel so comfortable that you forget you’re even working. It’s amazing what he can do. And he gives you lots of leeway and lets you do your thing. He’ll ask your opinion and input too. It’s cool to be under that tutelage. From that I went on to do a Willie Nelson thing. Now that takes a lot of trust, because I’m not even a country dude. But at this point I’ve played with every country artist from outlaw country to pop, all through Don Was. It’s like suddenly you look up and you feel like you have arrived after all the years of hard work. Vince Gill came up to me at one of our shows and said he loved my playing. People have told me that I’m a chameleon on the drums and that I sound and play different in every context. I can play authentically with all of the nuances and make it believable, because it’s the real deal. I think most importantly it’s the feel of the music and making the artist feel confident and secure. I believe being from New Orleans allows me that ability to play in that way, any style and in any context.”
Although he can play any genre with authenticity, Terence always manages to inject a part of New Orleans into everything he plays.
“There’s always a piece of me rooted in NOLA. It was the birthplace of rock and jazz and blues. I think it’s more present when I’m with a NOLA musician but even when I’m not, there is something innate that makes me feel that spirit. It’s a spirit more than the notes.”
Terence was recently asked to join Gov’t Mule to fill in for Matt Abts as he recovers from health issues from years of drumming.
“Matt Abts is a great friend and a big influence on my playing, and I’ve been a Gov’t Mule fan since the mid 90’s. He’s 72 years old so he needs time to rest and heal, because that’s a lot of drumming. Even for me, at 55, I feel certain aches and pains in my body. There is wear and tear from what we do. I had just got back from Europe with the new Warren Haynes band when Warren called and asked me if I was available to play a few Gov’t Mule shows at the last minute to fill in for Matt. This was huge for me. I got thrown in the deep end on this one. I knew some of their music, but their catalog is thick, and it isn’t easy music. I think that was the most challenging thing in my career. There was no rehearsal and barely any sound check. But we played the gig and it went great. For Gov’t Mule to change the drummer—it changes everything. I had to be as authentic initially as I could. Every night there were a few different songs I had to learn and internalize and perform like I was in the band for years, which is a helluva task. But I had earned Warren’s trust. I think I got good grades.”
Terence was asked to hypothesize about what it is about his playing that stands out to musicians and places him in such high demand.
“I think I have bandleader qualities, and I have awareness of musicianship and musicality. I don’t just play the drums—I play the song. I read the energy, the ups and downs. I have my bad days, but they aren’t too often. I love challenges and I love the unknown. Every night I try deliver a better performance. I put out 200 percent, out of respect for the people I play with, and for myself. I am always checking out new artists—how they are thinking about drums. I want to be current and purposeful. I need to know what’s going on.”
While he is very confident about his natural talent and the skills he developed, he does remember his worst show, which was when he was with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
“Unfortunately, I had a bit of a big ego back then, but I was soon humbled by this experience. We had started working with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. They had this dance choreographed to a music suite written by the Dirty Dozen. We got to play the live performance in New York, and we get to this one transition that is supposed to be a slow part, and I brain farted and went into the fast movement. I’m looking at them and calling them names before I realized it was me that screwed up. They were all laughing. But the dancers didn’t miss a beat—they just sped up to match it. It was the most humbling moment in my career. I was so hurt and embarrassed. From that moment on I vowed to be way better and never to do that again.”
Terence also writes songs, and he co-wrote the song, “Bayou Man” which was included on Tab’s latest album I Hear Thunder.
“Tab was collaborating with George Porter and Anders Osborne for the I Hear Thunder recording, and he asked if I had any songs. I said, “A matter of fact I do.’ I had already been working on something that had Tab in mind, but I didn’t have all the lyrics completed. Anders, Tab and I finished it. I was happy to collaborate on my idea with Tab and Anders. Those are two great artists. I wrote it in Tab’s vein and in his timbre, but he would have to deliver the song every night, so he had to add his thing to it. I’m thankful he believed in the song enough to add it to the album. I loved making it a collaboration. Tab offered some of the big lines, like ‘The moss gets mighty muddy when it rains’”.
Terence didn’t hesitate when recalling the most treasured moment in his career.
“I was invited to play at the Willie Nelson induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and when I arrived, Don (Was) had informed me that we were going to do another segment with Elton John for the Robbie Robertson’s tribute. So, we’re all on stage blocking camera shots and lighting and Elton John is on the stage sitting at the piano. I was making some swampy NOLA beat noise on the drum kit and Elton started to play to it. Then Don joins in and the whole band joins in. I don’t know if it was filmed, but it was the coolest moment. I thought we didn’t even have to do the show after that, as far as I was concerned. This moment solidified my life. Elton John was jamming to one of my beats and loved it. We ended up playing “the Weight”, and it was super dope to be on film with Elton for Robbie Robertson. But that jam beforehand was the highlight for me.”
Terence has a few new ideas for the coming year, including a possible solo release.
“I put together this southern Louisiana all-star blues and rock band called Gator Blaq. We played the Crawfish Festival and now I’m getting calls for Gator Blaq from that one gig. And I might do my own little solo project. Maybe another Swampgrease record. I wrote a bunch of material. I don’t know if I’ll sing on it, though. On all my demos I sing, and I’ll sing some background vocals. But I don’t know if I’m confident enough to put my voice on the record.”
Terence has many fans who will be eager to hear his solo release and his new band, Gator Blaq, as well as continuing to see him play with some of our favorite bands. Want to see for yourself what differentiates a good drummer from a great drummer? Check out where Terence Higgins is playing next. You can learn more about him at www.terencehigginsmusic.com
