At the mid-point of his career, Marc Broussard has 16 albums to his credit, many of them released by major record labels.
In 2004, his second album, “Carencro,” and its most popular song, “Home,” brought the then 22-year-old singer-songwriter from southwest Louisiana national popularity.
Following his 20th anniversary touring this year for “Carencro,” a new chapter for Broussard begins this week with “Time Is a Thief.” Released Friday, the new album represents Broussard’s soul- and rhythm-and-blues-informed style better than anything that preceded it.
“This album is the most me that you can get,” Broussard promised from Carencro, the small city in Lafayette Parish where his family has lived for generations. “In my career, you’ve got flashes of me in every project, but this one, from top to bottom, is fully me.”
Broussard gives his decadeslong friend Eric Krasno credit for a “massive assist” in fashioning “Time Is a Thief” into his dream project. Krasno, a Grammy-winning musician, producer and songwriter, co-produced the album at his Los Angeles recording studio. The co-founder of the jazz-inflected soul-funk band Soulive, Krasno has produced and/or composed recordings for Aaron Neville, Ledisi, Norah Jones, 50 Cent, Chaka Khan, Justin Timberlake, the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Emily King.
Krasno’s signature gloss and detail is all over “Time Is a Thief.” That’s the cool part of the album, Broussard said.
“I realized a long time ago that I’m not cool in the way that Johnnie Taylor or Al Green are,” he said, referring to the classic soul singers.
Marc Broussard and his band perform during the opening of Downtown Alive! at Parc International on March 25, 2022, in Lafayette.
The best of both worlds come together, Broussard added, because “Time Is a Thief” blends his passionate vocals with Krasno’s cool studio craftsmanship. Broussard invited his friend to produce his first album of original material since 2017 after nearly three years of failing to secure guitar-producer Jeremy Most for the project.
“Jeremy Most produced several albums for a brilliant gal named Emily King,” Broussard said. “I couldn’t shake her album ‘The Switch.’ I listened to it for eight months. I told my manager, ‘I need Jeremy Most. Please give Jeremy Most.’ But we could not get in touch with him. He’s an anomaly. He’s a ghost. Finally, I switched gears and reached out to Eric, a dear friend whose work I have adored for 20 years.”
Serendipitously, when the time came to record “Time Is a Thief,” Broussard learned that the elusive Most had decamped to Krasno’s backyard studio. Asked by his host if he’d like to help with Broussard’s album, Most instantly agreed.
“So, I’m looking for a guy for two-and-half years and then he just happens to be in Eric’s guest bedroom,” Broussard said. “I finally ended up working with him.”
After creating the album he’s always dreamed of, Broussard will spend most of the rest of this year on the road. The tour begins with two Louisiana album-release shows, the first Friday in Parc International in Lafayette and second Saturday at Tipitina’s in New Orleans.
“We’ve got so many friends showing up at Tip’s and in Lafayette,” Broussard said. “This weekend is going to be insane. I’m so fired up — and two days later we leave for Europe.”
Internationally, Broussard has an especially strong followings in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
“They’ve treated me like a king,” he said of the Dutch. “I’m friends with famous people there. I have secret passes to the coolest clubs in Amsterdam.”
None of the above is anything Broussard expected to happen.
“When I started this whole thing, I thought I’d be playing music on the weekends with cover bands here in Acadiana,” he said. “That was my experience growing up with my father (Ted Broussard of the Boogie Kings). So, to be a little boy from Carencro who goes to Amsterdam and sells 2,500 or 3,000 tickets is more than a dream come true. It’s the dream I never had. And everything over there (in Europe and the U.K.) is completely reassuring about what we’ve got going on here.”
Now that he’s recording and releasing albums independently following years with major record labels, Broussard says he’s more creative, productive and busy than ever.
“I can’t remember being this active when I was on Island Def Jam or Atlantic,” he said. “I’m writing better than I’ve ever written, I’m more focused than I’ve ever been — and I’m still having a good old time.”
Downtown Rising with Marc Broussard/North Mississippi Allstars/Lost Bayou Ramblers
5 p.m. Friday
Parc International, 200 Garfield St., Lafayette
$25-$100 plus
socialentertainment.net or marcbroussard.com