Music Coast caught up with Bon Bon Vivant aboard the Portland Spirit during Waterfront Blues 2026’s Big Easy Blues Cruise for a conversation about performing on the water, New Orleans energy, theatrical storytelling, shadow and celebration, and what makes the band more than just a concert.
Abigail Cosio and Jeremy Kelley talk about how playing on a moving boat changes the groove, why Bon Bon Vivant’s live show feels theatrical, and how the band brings joy, strangeness, brass, storytelling, and New Orleans spirit into every set.
We also get into:
• Performing on the Portland Spirit during the Big Easy Blues Cruise
• How the water, skyline, and movement changed the energy
• Bon Bon Vivant’s mix of emotional, witty, macabre, and joyful songwriting
• “Odetta,” the siren/sailor love story featuring Jon Cleary
• “Here We Go” and committing to the road, friendship, and the lifestyle
• “Sin Eater” and balancing tragedy with celebration
• Bringing New Orleans freedom, weirdness, and openness into Portland
• The family energy inside the band
• Where Bon Bon Vivant fits inside the wider Waterfront Blues Festival story
• Their perfect self-description: a horn dance party with dark storytelling
“Odetta” featuring Jon Cleary is out now.
🎤 Interview by Music Coast
📍 Waterfront Blues Festival 2026 — Big Easy Blues Cruise aboard the Portland Spirit, Portland, Oregon
