During his five-year stint in the Crescent City, Craig Caffall earned his Ph.D in New Orleans music, playing back-up for Irma Thomas and gigging with everyone from Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. to Cyril Neville while playing with his own band, Big Train. But it was “Mudbugs and Dixie Beer” that really put him on the map. This rockin’ paean to local culture blasts over the loudspeakers every time the Acadiana Mudbugs play a home game in Lafayette, spreading the crawfish gospel throughout the Southern Indoor Football League.

Like “Mudbugs,” Hold Me Up was written and recorded in New Orleans, then remixed in Sausalito, California, near where Caffall lives when he’s not touring with Maria Muldaur. There’s no mistaking the Big Easy influence, especially on R&B slow-burners such as “Try.” But Caffall busts Southern boogie blues and big rig rock just as hard, making this a great party album.