Taste of the Deep South
Baton Rouge
Sept. 14, 2025
What is the Deep South, and what gets to represent it? That seems to be a question that’s always being litigated in the South and beyond.
The Taste of the Deep South festival seems to have clarity on at least part of the answer. The festival started as Henry Turner Jr. Day to recognize people, organizations, and businesses that worked to make Baton Rouge a better place to live. It evolved into a celebration of the South through food and music. At this weekend’s 9th Annual Taste of the Deep South, the festival showcased a diverse array of local talent but seems to have lost its emphasis on food.
Taste of the Deep South is billed as a food and music festival expecting 2,000 people, but as I walked up to the courtyard at the library on Goodwood Boulevard, I didn’t see as much food or as many people as promised. The festival was spread into sections: There were three food trucks in the front serving a mix of carnival fried food faire and “Southern cuisine” which mostly included fries or seafood, a maker’s section which included the festival’s own plate lunch catering for VIP ticket holders, the stage area, and on Saturday, there was a children’s market for kid entrepreneurs to showcase their wares.
Louisiana is known for hosting festivals. There are hot air balloon festivals, the International Rice Festival, Jazz Fest, Festival International and many more. Given this, I wouldn’t have categorized the event as a food festival at all. Sure, there were some food options, but it wasn’t a focus of the event. From former online posts and recaps of the event, it seems there used to be different kinds of food and more vendors, and I wish we would’ve seen that this weekend.
The lineup at the festival however, had a little bit of something for everyone. Bands and musicians ranging from hip hop to Christian to blues took the stage. Jessi Campo, a bilingual singer/songwriter based in Miami, was a magnetic performer. She’d performed at several Taste of the Deep South festivals before, and the experience showed.
She sang and danced like no one was watching and people from all sections of the festival joined in. At the time she took the stage around 3:30 p.m., the crowd was around 30 people dispersed at different ends of the courtyard. By the time she was finishing her set, many of those people had gathered closer to the stage. She even pulled a young teenager who was dancing along to the music up to dance on stage with her.
Campo sang “Blue Skies,” a cheery song about leaving blue days behind.
“Blue skies smiling at me,” the song opens. “Nothing but blue skies do I see.”
Campo was mentored by Turner Jr. and invited him up for a few songs too. Her set contained a mix of songs in English and Spanish which felt notable because “Deep South” in Louisiana doesn't always feel like it includes cultures from other countries.
People who grew up in Baton Rouge often say “local food” to refer to Cajun/Creole cuisine they deem close enough to what they grew up with to be legit. The term local music probably falls the same way. By including Campo in their line-up, the festival is in some way pushing back against that cultural expectation (though it’s important to note, Campo was the only bilingual act on the program). The Taste of the Deep South on offer over the weekend included Baton Rouge area entrepreneurs and students testing the waters, vibrant performers, people braving the heat to relish in live music and dance — no matter the language.
