Ri’chard's is the ideal room for an extended set and the chance to give an intimate performance to a crowd that came to dine and hear our writer/artists tell their stories! It’s a family establishment where people come for the food and stay for the music (Jazz, Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Alt rock, Folk - you get it all) and great home made desserts. Ri’chard's is an "original music" only venue; violators will be shunned.
 

Ri'chard Trest

Crocker Springs

I Hope I Don't Choke

12 Step Plan

Paper Cup

My Heart's In Louisianne

Richard Trest is a New Orleans native who grew up on the Mississippi Gulf coast. His first garage band (at 16) played all the 60's rock covers to which they could figure out the chords. He wailed on guitar, bass, lead and harmony vocals, and later harmonica, but he knew he was college bound, so soon studies and odd jobs to pay for school led him to only play some acoustic tunes with friends. After college, a corporate call landed him a career job in Baton Rouge where he settled in with a wife and a son. But Richard (Ri'chard stuck as a nickname in Baton Rouge) still found time to play at clubs and festivals in Louisiana, as well as in Michigan and Texas for occasional nights and weekends. He started writing songs in the late 1990's and ultimately moved to Nashville as his writing started getting attention.

Richard now has four children, mostly grown, and 14 acres just north of Nashville with horses and lots of pets. His wife (Debbie) has always been supportive of his writing passion and tolerant of his non-traditional workdays. Richard has become one of the Nashville song machine cogs, writing and co-writing with hit writers, producing, and supporting other songwriters and emerging artists.

In late 2005 he opened Ri’chard’s Louisiana Café in an historic building that he renovated. When you visit Ri'chards's, you feel like you are in New Orleans even though you are 10 minutes north of downtown Nashville! Ri'chards's is a friendly place where customers come for the jambalaya, creole, or gumbo and to hang out for the evening listening to the music of visiting songwriters. As work in the kitchen permits, Richard visits with his guests or, better yet, he and his chefs take to the stage in white hat and smocks to play and sing their own works. Ask him to tell you about the shrimp creole he has simmering on the stove and Richard’s face lights up with pleasure. Ditto for his music. He’s a man with dual passions, but which is he first: a restaurateur or a songwriter? “I’m a chef,” Richard answers with no hesitation whatsoever. “The dictionary says the chef is the chief of the kitchen. That’s what I am. But the music,” he adds, “feeds my songwriter’s soul.” Fortunately, both the food and the music sate the souls of those who tarry at Ri’chard’s Louisiana Café. You can hear more of Richard's songs by visiting www.myspace.com/richardslouisianacafe or come hear him "live" at Ri'chard's Café.