By Allison Davis

May 14th -7pm | FOGHAT & NAZARETH at Ferg’s Pavilion
Tickets https://www.fergsevents.com/events/foghat-and-nazareth

There is a specific kind of magic that happens when you sit down with a musician who has spent thirty years on the road but still talks about a guitar lick with the wide-eyed wonder of a teenager. That was my experience chatting with Scott Holt. From the moment he picked up the phone, I wasn’t just interviewing the frontman of Foghat; I was talking to a storyteller who genuinely loves the craft, the history, and the sheer human connection of music.

I felt an immediate kinship with Scott’s easy-going, friendly vibe and I am a sucker for story time. While he was calling from a frosty Duluth morning, his heart and his musical roots are firmly planted in the Southern soil. Let me just say I probably could have continued this conversation for much longer than the hour we spoke! Honestly how do you break down the goods into just some short paragraphs?

The road to the stage began long before Scott ever picked up a guitar. It started with a nine-year-old kid sitting in the “nosebleed” seats of an arena in Murfreesboro.
“My parents opted for the experience over saving 20 bucks,” Scott recalls, thinking back to his very first concert: Elvis Presley. “I remember the building just pulsating before he even walked out. That was the first germ of the idea. I looked around and thought, ‘This is a nice way to make a living. I could get behind this.'”
Decades later, that dream came full circle when Scott performed on the very same stage Elvis once dominated at the International Hotel in Vegas. ” We got to hang out in his dressing room!”

Scott originally hails from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and that Southern charm is woven into everything he says. But his career truly ignited right here in our backyard, thanks to a life-changing surprise orchestrated by his father.

Scott had only been playing guitar for about six months when his dad took him to see the legendary Buddy Guy at The London Victory Club in Tampa. Scott thought they were just there as fans, but his father had a much bigger plan in motion. The absolute shock of his life came when his dad led him backstage to actually meet the blues icon.

That surprise meeting turned into an impromptu masterclass. “Next thing I know,” Scott recalls, “we’re in a hotel room. I’m sitting on one bed with my guitar, and Buddy is sitting on the other bed with his. I was seeing all of this for the first time and was just blown away, I knew right in that moment this is exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

That hotel room lesson wasn’t the end of the story it was the beginning of a ten-year whirlwind. Shortly after that meeting, the call came to join Buddy’s band on the road. For a kid who had never really been away from home, the transition was a vertical climb.

“I had never been away from home. Next thing I know, I’m in a van with guys I’ve never met, heading to Canada, then Brazil,” Scott says. “There was no setlist. There was no discussion. It was the deep end, and Buddy was basically saying, ‘Hold this brick while you swim.'”

It was an apprenticeship that Scott describes as the greatest education he could have ever asked for. It wasn’t just about the notes; it was about the discipline of the tour and the raw energy of live performance. Listening to him describe those years, you realize that Scott didn’t just learn how to play the blues; he learned how to live them across continents. He brings that same raw, improvisational spirit to the iconic Foghat catalog today, proving that you can take the boy out of the blues, but you can’t take the blues out of the rocker.

Stepping into a band with over 50 years of history could be intimidating, but Scott approaches it with a beautiful mix of reverence and playfulness. He’s been writing with founding drummer Roger Earl for years, and that brotherhood is the engine that keeps Foghat’s “Slow Ride” moving at full throttle. The band also has a stack of new songs ready to be recorded, which I am super stoked to hear!
“We’re a community,” Scott says. “If we’re not on stage, we’re probably all at dinner together. That chemistry is why we’re still having a ball every single night.”
It was incredible to hear him speak about the responsibility of carrying on the legacy of Charlie Huhn and Lonesome Dave Peverett. He shared stories of studio sessions where the goal isn’t just to hit the right notes, but to capture the “vibe” that has kept fans coming back for five decades. It’s clear that for Scott, this isn’t just a gig it’s a stewardship of rock history.

One of the most moving parts of our conversation was Scott’s take on the importance of the arts. In a world that can often feel chaotic, he sees music as a necessary “reset.” He spoke with such conviction about the way a single song can change the trajectory of someone’s day, or even their life.
“Music puts a different energy into the world,” he says. “This is the only job where people applaud when you finish your task. If it satisfies your soul, you have to do it.”

Meeting Scott, you realize he is a man without a “Plan B” because he was born for Plan A. His humility and his willingness to share the “behind-the-scenes” struggles of the road the missed sleep, the long miles make him one of the most grounded artists I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing. He doesn’t shy away from the hard parts; he embraces them as the price of admission for getting to do what he loves.

The “Twang & Bang” energy is coming home to Florida this month, and if you want to see a masterclass in rock and blues, you need to be there. Scott and the boys are bringing Nazareth along for a double-bill of classic rock royalty.

Upcoming Florida Dates:
• May 14, 2026: St. Petersburg – Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill (7:00 PM)
• May 15, 2026: Mount Dora – Mount Dora Music Hall (8:00 PM)
• May 16, 2026: Immokalee – Seminole Casino Hotel (Rescheduled date!)

“If the audience has a good time, I promise you the band had an even better one.”

Scott Holt is more than just a guitarist; he’s a reminder that when you follow your passion with everything you’ve got, the ride is always worth it. My very favorite thing is his story is a testament to the power of saying “yes” to the unexpected, whether it’s a surprise backstage pass from his dad or a seat in a tour van headed for Brazil.

With that being said, see you at Ferg’s I’ll be the one with the camera down front ready to rock!