Shane Speal’s goal is simply stated: “I want to help make New Orleans home to the premier cigar box festival in the world.”

A musician and historian hailed as “King of the Cigar Box Guitar” and the man responsible for the instrument’s recent revival, Speal spoke with OffBeat from his backyard woodshop in York, Pennsylvania as he put final touches on a handmade cigar box guitar—he’s built more than 2,000 since 1993. “The cigar box guitar had been completely forgotten about,” Speal explains....