Stage Talk with Rick Koster
Where every show has something to say.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd: All Roads Inevitably Led to the Garde
There are certain venues that every great modern blues artist dreams of headlining. Ground Zero in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Buddy Guy’s Legends and Kingston Mines in Chicago. B.B. King’s in New York City. Antone’s in Austin. The entire length of Beale Street in Memphis.
And, certainly, the Garde Arts Center in New London!
Well, perhaps not “certainly.” But for an historic theater renowned for an expansive and compelling live performance calendar, the Garde has more than stepped up to the plate with an ongoing succession of great blues acts over the years.
Buddy Guy! John Mayall! Joe Bonamassa! Keb’ Mo’ (returning March 1)! Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown! Roomful of Blues! Shemekia Copeland! The Robert Cray Band numerous times (with more to come)! Robben Ford! Duke Robillard. Hot Tuna! Peter Green! Taj Mahal!
And now Kenny Wayne Shepherd, whose nuanced yet pyrotechnic guitar stylings and emotive songwriting have expanded the scope and reach of modern blues music, gets HIS time to shine at the Garde. He and his remarkable band stop by at 7:30 p.m. March 11 during a 30th anniversary tour celebrating his breakthrough “Ledbetter Heights” recording.
And why not? The Garde is home to the blues!