This summer, Eric Clapton gathered a veritable Who’s Who of the world’s most talented guitar players at the third Crossroads Guitar Festival, an 11-hour celebration of the six-string that attracted a sold-out crowd of more than 27,000 music fans to Chicago’s Toyota Park. All profits from this daylong display of guitar virtuosity benefited The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility Clapton founded to help people suffering from chemical dependency.
Rhino Entertainment presents more than four hours of music, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage from this star-studded concert, including performances by Clapton, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood, Jeff Beck, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, Derek Trucks, B.B. King, and Bill Murray, who served as the concert’s master of ceremonies. <em>Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010</em> will be available November 9 at all retail outlets, including www.rhino.com. This is the first-ever release of a Crossroads Guitar Festival on Blu-ray.
"The Crossroads Festival is the realization of a dream for me, to gather a group of amazingly talented musicians to perform on one stage," Clapton said. "The Crossroads performers are all musicians I admire and respect."
It’s no surprise a festival named for a Robert Johnson song would include a heavy dose of the blues and <em>Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010</em> does not disappoint with remarkable performances by Robert Cray, Hubert Sumlin (Howlin’ Wolf’s guitarist), Jimmie Vaughan, Sonny Landreth, Gary Clark Jr., Keb’ Mo’, and Buddy Guy, plus B.B. King who led an all-star jam of his classic "The Thrill Is Gone." The rock contingent was well represented by ZZ Top, Jeff Beck, the John Mayer Trio, Doyle Bramhall II, the Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Warren Haynes, and Steve Winwood, who teamed with Clapton for several performances including an epic cover of Jimi Hendrix’s "Voodoo Chile."
Other styles find a home here too, with "Blackwaterside" by Scottish singer-songwriter Bert Jansch an accomplished acoustic player; "One More Last Chance" and an amazing take on Clapton’s "Lay Down Sally" by country picker Vince Gill who is accompanied by the legendary James Burton and others; "Angelina" and "Vonetta" by jazz guitarist Earl Klugh; and Jeff Beck who transforms Puccini’s aria "Nessun Dorma" into a soaring piece for electric guitar.
Other artists making appearances include: Sheryl Crow, Ronnie Wood, Robert Randolph, Jonny Lang, Joe Bonamassa, Pino Daniele, Stefan Grossman, and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas.