Susan Owens

   Susan Owens was born in New Orleans & raised in Baton Rouge La. She began playing the guitar at the age of thirteen during the summer before the 8th grade in the year 1969. Her best friend at the time had a boyfriend in a band & knew a truncated version of Blackbird by Paul McCartney. She taught it to Susan & there was no looking back.
    She got her first guitar by saving 31/2 books worth of S&H green stamps.  Carrying that guitar around with her everywhere
she made it through high school & a couple of semesters at LSU. Playing at first in solitude & gradually venturing to such venues
as Acme Book Store & the infamous Magoo's on Chimes Street by the campus by way of the LSU  parade ground.
    She caught the attention of local wit & club owner Phil Brady who hired her for her first paying performance. When he moved
locations he hired her to help run a wed night jazz jam also featuring sax player, Walter Holland. Through that medium she
formed Live Bait (swing, country & originals) & had the honor of appearing weekly at the legendary Ben & Nita's on the Amite
River at Port Vincent La. (It was known for having a stage that was made from half of an old boat deck & hull).
    The Susan Owens  trio with Betsy Braud & Emilee Smart(nee Roper) played at the 2nd ever Baton Rouge Fest-for-All
& under various names Susan participated in the next  9 or 10 seasons of the hugely successful yearly event. One of those
bands was the first Filigree, a mostly original music band.
     Other area bands she played with were: Borrowed Time (replacement for Michael Malone), Ghost Hotel (all original), The Luvrakers (with her late husband Alva Snelling) & The Frenge (fringe). 
    Around 1989 Susan essentially quit playing music & took some courses in Pathology & Pharmacology with the intention of working with her husband of 12 years in his private social work practice. At the same time she managed to quit a 21 year long smoking habit. After her husbands untimely death in 1995 she began once again to seriously approach her music by taking lessons to hone her skills & learning for the first time how to breathe properly.
    Again starting off solo she worked to make her way back into the local music scene. Bands she participated in at this time were: The John Plauche Group (jazz),  Susan's Time Warp (classic rock) & Pandora Roxx (classic rock). In May of 2003 she began a year long stint hosting a Tues night open mic music jam at Phil Brady's Bar & Grill. Around the same time she joined the existing band Raising Cane & enjoyed once again playing summertime jobs on the Amite River. Through the jam she also formed Gypsy Swing, competing in the Baton Rouge Blues Challenge against the likes of Kenny Acosta (that years winner), J.D. Wallace, Chicago Al & Blues Machine (with Larry Bernard & the Boys from England).
    Gypsy Swing continued to play & with some personnel changes went in to Main St. Studio in December of 2003 to record a CD. At that time Susan decided to change the name back to Filigree since she had come full circle back to the music she originally loved while growing up with a mother from New Orleans who loved all the old jazz.                                  
Now performing Classic Rock & Modern Blues, as well as old Swing, Filigree is truly a Louisiana Hybrid band. Her CD: Tanging the Hump came out in November 2004. & is available for sale at area music stores & wherever she is playing.
   For 2 years now Susan Owens & Filigree have been playing  every Tuesday night at Slippery Pete's. (in Baton Rouge @ Florida & Stevendale) You can also look for them at Phil Brady's in Baton Rouge & T & T Lounge in Zachary La. as well as other regional venues.

click here for Susan's song list