Blues legend Buddy Guy is coming to Reno’s Silver Legacy Friday, March 23. Anybody who claims to love the blues has got to know and admire Buddy Guy who’s been a pioneer in the genre since the early 1950s. He, along with blues players like Junior Wells, Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, B.B. King, and many others, influenced young musicians on both sides of the Atlantic who became the creators of rock and roll. Without him things would be different.
Buddy was there in the beginning and has played with many of the great rock ‘n’ roll musicians who sprang from the well. Among them Steve Miller, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, plus extensive work with Eric Clapton. And even the next wave of stars: Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shephard, Keb Mo’, Robert Cray, John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and many more.
At 81 years of age I wouldn’t wait for the next time Buddy Guy comes through town to see him play. The man has got to slow down touring at some point in time. It’s sad to say, but he is one of the last of his generation. You might be able to catch him playing at his own club in Chicago, Buddy Guy’s Legends. He plays a month of shows there every January, but the Silver Legacy is a lot closer.
Muddy Waters, before he died in 1983, made Buddy promise to keep the blues alive. Buddy’s touring and his Chicago club are part of keeping that promise.
I first saw Buddy Guy during the Sweet Tea tour in 2001. Other than enjoying the hell out of it I don’t remember a lot about that show. The next time I saw him was at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe in 2006 and I remember that one. At one point in the show he took a walk through the audience talking and playing directly to people in the crowd. He even went behind the bar and got a cocktail from the bartender. As I understand it he still takes a walk through the crowd during his shows.
Age doesn’t seem to be slowing him down though. According to his website he has over 40 shows scheduled this summer, as well as a week on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise in October, but no other dates in the Reno area. That means this show is your last chance to see and hear him in Reno for a while.
Buddy has been recognized by his peers many, many times. Here is a partial list of those awards:
- Seven Grammy Awards
- Presented the National Medal of Arts by the President (2003)
- 23 W.C. Handy Awards (as of 2003)
- Billboard Magazine’s Century Award
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2005)
- Kennedy Center Honors (2012)
Tickets are still available for this show. With as deep a blues community as we have in Reno, I can’t imagine good seats will be around much longer. Let the good times roll.
For tickets and information visit: http://www.silverlegacyreno.com
