Dear to his heart

A shirt dedication will be done in honor of the late musician Shane West at the 32nd Annual Boggy Bayou Festival this Saturday. After learning of the board’s plan to remember Shane at this year’s event, his wife and three kids were reminded of what Shane meant to the festival. They then couldn’t help but remember what the festival meant to him.
According to Branigan, Shane’s oldest child, her dad loved the festival because his whole family could be stage side for the main event.
“A lot of our family couldn’t go to most of my dad’s shows, especially his nieces and nephews because he sometimes played in bars. But for Boggy Bayou his whole family could see him perform, and he loved nothing more than that,” said Branigan. “That’s why he loved playing at the festival so much.”
Shane’s youngest child Maddi agreed with what her older sister said.
Maddi added, “The Boggy Bayou was one of the only places I got to see my dad perform until I was older, and I think having his kids there made performing at the festival special for him.”
A story that Shane’s wife told about her late husband’s 2008 performance at Boggy Bayou proved how much dedication Shane had to his hometown’s annual festival.
Nanci said, “Shane spent years in and out of the hospital before the doctors diagnosed him with Mesothelioma, and for the festival in 2009 he was suppose to perform, but days before the festival he got really sick and ended up in the hospital. On the day that he was suppose to perform the doctor wouldn’t release him, and he told that doctor ‘I’m leaving because I have to sing at the Boggy Bayou Festival tonight.’”
Against his doctor’s wishes, Nanci said, “We left the hospital that day and hurried to go buy him some clothes, and made it just in time for him to sing. He refused to miss singing at the festival because he loved performing there that much.”
Shane had lost 20 pounds during his stint in the hospital, but that night, he performed like the superstar he was.
According to Bernice Ardoin, Shane has performed at the festival “at least five times” since its beginning in 1985.
The year he took the stage after a stint in the hospital, his middle child Dayne also performed.
Dayne said, “The people in Pine Prairie meant a lot to my dad, and to get to show off his kids to the people he cared so much about, meant everything. It made him so proud.”
Shane loved to debut his children’s talent on the Boggy Bayou stage so much that he made sure to perform with them at the festival. In 1999, Branigan, Dayne, and Maddi joined their dad on stage to perform for the crowd.
Branigan joked, “He made us practice so much before we sang with him on stage, and he never let Maddi live down the fact that she chickened out.”
Dayne laughed as he added, “My dad always said that Maddi got up there and coughed and acted like she was sick so she wouldn’t have to sing.”
Nonetheless, all of his children stood on that stage with him at least once, which made Boggy Bayou even more meaningful to Shane.
Dayne, who has followed in his dad’s footsteps, hopes to carry on the love for music that Shane always looked forward to showcasing at the Boggy Bayou Festival.
“My dad always said that musical talent gets better and better with each generation, and he always hoped that I would play music,” said Dayne. “He especially wanted his grandson Parker to play music, because he always thought Parker was going to have a good ear for it. Parker will probably perform at Boggy Bayou, too, one day, and nothing would make my dad more proud than that.”
When asked what she thinks Shane would say about the shirt dedication, Nanci laughed and said, “If Shane were here right now he’d probably be saying ‘what y’all doing that for. I didn’t do anything special.’” She then continue, “But inside he’d be so happy.”