Folks from all over are making plans to memorialize musician and physician Tommy Comeaux, a multi-instrumentalist and pathologist known to fans as a member of numerous Acadiana-based bands including BeauSoleil, The Basin Brothers, The Clickin’ Chickens and Coteau.

A generous, warm spirit who lent his talent to the sound of many ensembles, Comeaux, 45, won accolades from the musical and medical community during a pair of distinguished careers. Truly one of the nicest people you could ever meet, the New Orleans-born and Lafayette-bred Comeaux performed music ranging from country to jazz on a variety of instruments including, guitar, dobro, mandolin and bass.

“He was just an all-around good guy,” Camille Roach, co-owner of Grant Street Dancehall, told a writer for The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette. “He played different types of music, but it was always honest, always from the heart. That was the common musical thread that wove it all together.”

Comeaux was killed November 8 when the bicycle he was riding was struck by an oncoming sport utility vehicle. The driver of the vehicle suffered an apparent seizure and crossed the center line of the road.

A member of the Louisiana Music Commission, Comeaux received four Grammy nominations while a member of BeauSoleil, and he served on the Board of Selections for the Grammy awards. Since leaving BeauSoleil, he had performed and recorded with Cajun artists The Basin Brothers, progressive bluegrass outfit The Clickin’ Chickens and recently reunited Cajun rockers Coteau.

Valedictorian of his Lafayette High School class and an honor graduate of LSU Medical School, Comeaux was voted “Best Cajun Guitarist” in the most recent Times of Acadiana readers’ poll.

“He was the kind of musician who would contribute often to other people’s projects and never steal the spotlight,” Raoul Breaux, a friend and popular Lafayette blues DJ, said after Comeaux’s death. “He was a serious musician but just loved to play … and that’s not addressing his musical expertise. He operated in both spheres with a great degree of excellence and charm. He was the kind of guy that actually made you feel good about humanity.”

Less than 12 hours before his death, Comeaux backed up Native Sons, a duo comprised of former Red Beans & Rice Revue members Mike Hanisee and Danny Kimball, during a songwriters’ night event at Lafayette’s Artists’ Alliance. The multi-instrumentalist’s playing is featured on their recently released eponymous disc of original folk material.

Some of Comeaux’s most recent accomplishments included work in his home studio on a documentary soundtrack with fiddler Michael Doucet and a gig at The Barns at Wolf Trap with Coteau.

Comeaux played mandolin with the group in the mid-1970s before leaving Lafayette to study medicine. In an interview in his office at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center on the eve of the October release of Coteau’s Highly Seasoned Cajun Music (Rounder), Comeaux said joining the adventurous band’s twin-guitar attack was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

At the funeral, friend and frequent collaborator Sonny Landreth joined Doucet to perform a fiddle/resonator guitar version of “Chez Seychelles,” a song Comeaux recorded with the two on BeauSoleil’s Bayou Boogie album.

“He was the best of the best,” said Landreth. “He always helped people. It’s amazing how many circles of people he was connected with.”

“Tommy Comeaux was a doctor, musician, producer, songwriter and more,” LMC executive director Bernie Cyrus added. “He was a true universal man.”

Stay tuned for more on plans to celebrate Comeaux’s life.

A true family festival … It was just a matter of time before Lawtell’s Carrier clan completely took over a festival lineup, and now the prolific Creole family has decided to set the precedent themselves. Details were still coming in at press time, but the first-ever Carrier Family Festival has been confirmed for Sunday, Dec. 21 at Richard’s Club in Lawtell.

The event will run from 4 p.m. to midnight, and the lineup will include Kojak Carrier, Dwight Carrier, Troy Carrier, Chubby Carrier, Calvin Carrier, Bébé Carrier and Roy Carrier, proprietor of the Offshore Lounge. If this event doesn’t scream documentary, I don’t know what does.