Eric Clapton's Crossroad Guitar Festival Reviewed in the NYTimes
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Artist:
Eric Clapton hosted the 3rd annual Crossroads Guitar Festival over the weekend and it sounds like 11 hours worth of music I would liked to have been there for. It was an old fashioned celebration of the guitar hero, a stereotype I think of as a dying breed but, as the article points out, there were great players from all age groups performing. Here's a short excerpt from the article:
Joining Mr. Clapton among the headliners were B. B. King, Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Buddy Guy and Vince Gill. Mr. Clapton attended the whole show before leading his own band, with Mr. Beck and Steve Winwood as guests. He sat in during the concert's noontime opening, set by the rip-roaring Louisiana slide guitarist Sonny Landreth, and later appeared with Sheryl Crow.
Also performing were Johnny Winter, Albert Lee, Keb Mo, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, the legendary James Burton, Doyle Bramhall II, Cesar Rojas and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Ron Wood, Robert Cray, and the mighty 78 year old Hubert Sumlin who spent most of his career playing with Howlin' Wolf. The always powerful Mr Sumlin played with oxygen tubes under his nostrils and, according to the review, still turned in a tasty set. As usual, women were woefully under-represented, with the incredible Susan Tedeschi and Sheryl Crow being the only representatives of their gender.
The concert is held for a good cause-to help support Clapton's drug rehab center in Antigua-and the review makes it sound like a little slice of heaven.
Here's a link to the article if you'd like to read the whole thing. And below is a clip of Jeff Beck performing.
Locating MOG account...
Comments (9)
Jeff Beck seems as alive as ever, with the help of his great rhythm section/singer. Wow!
Wish I knew who the singer is. If you (or anyone) has a clue I'd love to find out.
Rhonda Smith? I'm not positive.
The article mentioned John Mayer as a featured performer. Never thought of him as a guitar god. Am I wrong?
I'm not a gigantic fan, although there's a couple of songs like "Daughters" that I really love, but if you sit down and listen with an open mind, the boy can really play. His listings on MOG are all fouled up but check out the album called "Try: John Mayer Trio Live in Concert" with Steve Jordan and Pino Paladino and you will be pleasantly surprised. Puts me in mind of Cream on a good night
Thanks, I will check it out. Cream was the hook that dragged me into my musical addiction. Fred
Disreali Gears was the first album I bought in Stereo. I remember walking in to Harmony Records in The Bronx and asking for the LP with "Sunshine of your Love" on it and the guy behind the counter asking me if I wanted it in mono or stereo. Still have the album; wish I'd taken the mono.
Just saw your Cale/Clapton post and will be checking it out after i shower (just got off the treadmill)love it when there two guys play. I think Cale brings out the best in Clapton. That "Escondido" album was one of my favorites
Disreali Gears was also one of my early purchases also, but it was Crossroads on Wheels Of Fire that I never recovered from.
I can relate. That solo was magic and seemed to just go on forever