Fundraiser set to help Wade Benson Landry cover medical expenses

Friends of country music fiddler and Abbeville native Wade Benson Landry will hold a fundraiser on Sunday, May 23 to help cover medical bills Landry has incurred after being diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.
Dealing with the condition — scarring of the liver — can be quite costly, but Landry said his health is improving after treatment and working to improve his health and lifestyle, including stopping drinking.
“It’s not as bad as they used to say,” said Landry, 60. “They used to say you had one foot in the ground if you had it.
“It took a couple of months (of treatment), but I’m feeling really, really good right now.”
The fundraiser, which is celebrating Landry’s 50 years of fiddling, will be held at Cowboys in Scott starting at 2 p.m. Another event held in Nashville, where Landry lives with wife Teresa Bowe Landry, a vocalist, also helped raise funds, with a guitar autographed by country superstar George Strait netting $5,000 at auction.
The event at Cowboys will feature several south Louisiana musicians such as VJ “Boo Boo” Boulet and TK Hulin. Musicians are always there to help each other out in times of need, Landry said.
“It’s a blessing from God,” he said. “It’s a good feeling when you see some of your frieda get together to help you.”
Landry began playing fiddle at age 10 and moved to Nashville in 1980, starting his professional career with Mamou native and longtime country music singer-songwriter Jimmy C. Newman, taking Rufus Thibodeaux’s place in Newman’s band.
Landry continued his career working with a string of country music legends. First was George Jones, followed by Tammy Wynette. He recorded a No. 1 record with the Oak Ridge Boys and worked with Dottie West after that.
After Nashville became more of a corporate headquarters town than a country music town, Landry then moved to Branson, Missouri, and had his own show there for seven years.
At one point he got a job with Mel Tillis, for whom Landry’s brother Chuck was a drummer, and moved back to Nashville. Chuck Landry died in a tragic house fire in 2015.
“He will be missed (at the fundraiser),” Landry said.
Landry does look forward to the food in south Louisiana, one thing in particular.
“Crawfish is going to be a blessing from God too, boiled crawfish,” he said.
Merchandise will be sold at the fundraiser, including T-shirts and CDs, and items will be auctioned off. Landry hopes to have another autographed guitar for the auction from a country music artist.
“My wife Teresa also will be singing with us,” Landry said. “And a special shout out to my sister, Denise Ardeneaux, who will be there also and who will make her stage debut with us that night. I’m looking forward to that.”
Landry said his sister inherited his parents’ musical talent, like Landry and his brother did, but was hesitant to perform before.