On a sweltering Louisiana afternoon, people from all over the state came out to support John Foster’s rise to fame on American Idol with a parade through the country singer’s hometown of Addis and a concert at Bayou Plaquemine Waterfront Park.
The prince of country music?
Foster rolled through Addis around 6 p.m. May 14 in a massive crawfish float, tossing beads and holding onto his cowboy hat to keep it from flying off in the wind.
“John Foster! Number one!” paradegoers chanted. Many came decked out in unofficial Foster merchandise and carried signs with slogans of their own creation.
“If George Strait is the King of Country, John Foster has to be the PRINCE!” read the sign of Foster superfan Dempsey Stassi, a Gonzales resident.
Stassi said he used to bring friends to hear the country singer perform around the state and in Mississippi, long before Foster found fame on American Idol. He said he was consistently impressed by the country crooner’s voice, charm, and Christian values.
He called the large silver van parked behind him the “John Foster bus.” “It’s hard not to love him,” Stassi said.
Harold and Julie Prejean drove their 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air in the parade, flags flying and a John Foster sticker on the hood. Harold said he first heard the Idol finalist perform at a car show in Addis.
“I told him that day, ‘Boy, remember I told you so, you got the most beautiful voice I ever heard,’” he said.
After the parade, Foster prepared for the concert.
Watch his full performance below.
Around 7:15 p.m., he met up with a small crowd of fans at the put-in near the Iberville Parish Jail before arriving to the waterfront park by boat around 8 p.m. Tons of fans chanted his name as he entered.
After, Foster took the stage to perform six songs for a large crowd of eager listeners — many of which he covered on the show. First, he sang “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” by Alan Jackson, followed quickly by Elvis classic “Jailhouse Rock.”
He slowed things down with another of his Idol songs, “I Told You So,” which Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis performed on Idol in 2009.
Then, he sang “Neon Moon,” by Brooks and Dunn, which he covered on the show for a spot in the top 14. He also performed an original song, “Tell That Angel I Love Her,” in honor of his friend Maggie Dunn, who was killed on New Year’s Eve in 2022 when an Addis police officer ran a red light during a high-speed pursuit.
Foster ended on the crowd-favorite, upbeat “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” by Garth Brooks. The night ended with fireworks on the water.
As the concert ended and he left in a boat on Plaquemine Bayou, Foster gave a thumbs up to bid his fans farewell.
