Sauce Boss

Come with an empty stomach and a hankering for the blues and the Sauce Boss will deliver. The one-man band and Florida legend is back again at The Lyric Theatre for a night of swamp-style slide guitar and local storytelling. On his ’53 Telecaster and 1948 Fender amp, the Sauce Boss will perform some of his most famous hits, including “Great Big Fanny” and “Let the Big Dog Eat,” while cooking up a big pot of his world-famous gumbo. Featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and The Food Network’s Extreme Cuisine, the Sauce Boss is taking on the world one mouth and two ears at a time.

The Sauce Boss has always had a love for music. The Orlando native started performing at the age of 14, playing in nightclubs and coffeehouses by the age of 17. But it wasn’t until one day in the 1970’s when he woke up one morning to find a 1933 National Steel guitar in his front yard that he really began to devote himself completely to the blues. The Sauce Boss began to draw international attention after the success of his release “Let the Big Dog Eat,” which was featured in the 1986 Jonathan Demme film Something Wild.

Since then, the Sauce Boss has become famous for more than just his musical talent. The Sauce Boss developed his signature performing style over the years, which he maintains to this day, incorporating his crowd-rousing blues music with a very different kind of skill: cooking. In every performance, the Sauce Boss cooks a mean pot of spicy gumbo for his audience onstage all while playing some good, old-fashioned blues. The Sauce Boss gained the recognition of Jimmy Buffet and Parrotheads everywhere with the release of Buffet’s 1999 hit, “I Will Play for Gumbo,” which references the Sauce Boss’ distinctive performance style. His unique mix of music and food has been featured in a number of major television shows, radio programs, and magazines, including notably Living Blues, GQ, and Gourmet Magazine.

When he’s not performing for sold-out audiences across the country, the Sauce Boss is giving back to the community. The Sauce Boss has cooked for over 190,000 people for free throughout the United States while playing his homegrown, blues-inspired set. In 2003, the Sauce Boss created the non-profit foundation “Planet Gumbo,” through which he donates performances and delicious gumbo to homeless shelters around the country. This year, the Sauce Boss returns to his Florida roots at The Lyric Theatre. As always, expect a tasty meal and a savory blues performance from the Sauce Boss.

Partial Proceeds to Benefit the Salvation Army of Martin County