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Sonny Landreth News Updates
Update: August 17, 2007
Recent Shows
As many of you know, the Crossroads Festival in Chicago featured Sonny as the opening act! Introduced by Eric Clapton, he played a five-song set, including the technically challenging "Uberesso," a fast-paced paean to coffee (along the lines of Rimsky-Korsakov’s "Flight of the Bumblebee"). Thrillingly, Clapton brought out his guitar and joined the band on the final song, "Hell at Home."
The California run featured a warm response at the Orange Blossom—those folks are eager to bring Sonny back as soon as possible! San Diego fans came out in force for the two sets at the jazzy supper club Anthology: 400 souls brought a huge rush of energy to the evening. Look for details about the Sonora Blues Festival on the Brokenhearted Road fan site.*
Estes Park welcomed Sonny back with open arms. The show took place outdoors, on a beautiful sunny afternoon high in the Rocky Mountains, and long-time fans and friends were able to catch up in their "own private Colorado."
The northeast swing is under way: Stephen Talkhouse on Long Island was sold out, and Rockin’ the River in NYC had a packed crowd on the boat! Among the guests was an enthusiastic writer for the Manchester (UK) Evening News; check back on the reviews and interviews page soon… The Regatta Bar show also did well in the Boston area (Cambridge). Sonny reports that the new tune "Storm of Worry" is getting a monumental response.
After an earthy, fun festival on the Knowlton River, Sonny pays his respects again at Philly’s World Café Live and then heads north toward Canada through Lake George, Mt. Vernon and finally to Ontario for the Limestone Blues Festival. He’ll see some of you on the way—stay cool, y’all!
New Music
Rumours are flying about the new CD, but we’ve pledged to keep the lid on the box until it’s really ready for discussion. Check back here for the scoop when it’s a go.
July/August 2007
Back in the day (say, 700 years ago), troubadours traveled ceaselessly, sharing their music and carrying the news from one court to the next. That tradition is still evident among the stalwart professional musicians who tour during much of the year. Fortunately for us, Sonny Landreth is one of that select group—making it that much more likely that he’ll be playing somewhere near YOU soon. Grab your next chance to go see him!
Recent Shows
For all you road-trippers, how about testing your stamina with this sequence of gigs that took place in late April?
On April 27th, Sonny played at the Parish (House of Blues) with the Iguanas opening. Then on the 28th, by all accounts, the Bobby Charles Tribute at the Fais Do Do Stage was the hottest show at Jazzfest 2007. Charles’s iconic tunes were given a revved-up reading by Sonny, Dr.John, Marcia Ball, Pat Breaux, David Egan, Parker James, and Shannon McNally, although he himself did not take the stage that day. (As a side note, Sonny is indeed working with him to transcribe Charles' songs.) Sonny closed out the day at Jazzfest with a great performance in the BluesTent.
Later that evening, Sonny made the 3-hour drive to Lafayette for a performance at Grant Street which featured Steve Conn playing with the band. A favorite show at Festival International de Lafayette (FIL) was the turnabout the next day (Sunday) of Sonny guesting with Steve Conn. Among several Rock’n Bowl (Mid-City Lanes) gigs during this same time frame, one on that same Sunday night had Sonny high-tailing it back to New Orleans to play with Walter “Wolfman” Washington. Two days later, on May 2, “The Slide Tribe,” as Sonny named them, put on a sizzling show at the Rock ‘n Bowl: Michael Juan Nunez and Roddy Romero (who opened) sitting in with Sonny, Dave and Mike. Whew—what a rockin’ week!
The next week at Lafayette Square in New Orleans (with the Bluerunners opening) found Sonny keeping the rain at bay until after the show. June started with performances in Delaware, northwest New Jersey at the Crawfish Festival, and Virginia at the Wolf Trap Swamp Romp. After a run to Texas for the Austin Blues Summit (for the National Guitar Workshop) in early July, Sonny took to the mountains of Utah; the band enjoyed playing for the great crowd at the Red Butte Garden Ampitheater.
Where Next?
You’ll have no Illinois Blues if you’re headed to Chicago in late July! Catch Sonny at Eric Clapton’s guitar extravaganza, the Crossroads Festival, along with two shows at Fitzgerald’s. Then he’s covering the Northern Tier in August before trekking out west for several California dates—plus Colorado—and swinging back east for a swath through New York state, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—then BACK to Illinois. And that’s just August, folks!
Playin’ Around
Sonny occasionally sits in on gigs with Jimmy Buffett. If you’re planning to attend a Buffett show, keep your eyes—and ears!—open. Some upcoming dates when you can see Sonny with Jimmy Buffett are Sept. 2 and 8, Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA, and Sept. 18 and 20, Madison Square Garden, NYC. And maybe look for some October dates in Hawaii... Aloha Oe!
Recording
Irma Thomas, who recently won a Grammy (for her CD After the Rain, featuring a good bit of Sonny’s slide playing) is now a Blues Foundation winner too! The 2007 Blues Music Awards (formerly the WC Handy Awards) winners were announced in May: Queen Irma won both Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year and Soul Blues Album of the Year (for After the Rain). Congratulations once again!
Sonny’s studio work continues nonstop. An all-stars performance at the House of Blues in Los Angeles in April unveiled the exuberant CD What a Life, by Mike Post and the LA Blues Alliance. All signs point to this being the best blues album of the year! You’ll recognize Post as a co-producer of Levee Town (as well as winning 5 Grammys to date and composing hit theme songs for TV shows such as Hill Street Blues, LA Law, and Law & Order). The musical powerhouse includes Stanley Behrens, Mike Finnigan, Bob Glaub, Amy Keys, Keb Mo’, David Morgan, Mike Post, John (Jr.) Robinson, and WG "Snuffy" Walden. This record is Sonny-infused—he plays slide on every song, mostly electric, some acoustic too. Each performer brought two songs to the studio: Sonny unleashed Skip James’ “Illinois Blues” and his own deep blue “Storm of Worry.” Check it out!
More on the New CD!
Everyone is excited about Sonny’s next CD, which should be ready around the beginning of 2008 and will be produced by Tony Daigle along with Sonny. He’s writing and recording at Dockside right now! What will be on this one? If you’ve caught some recent shows, you have already heard a few of his new songs being road tested. There will also be a cover or two! Look for 11 songs total. This CD will not have a central theme (in the sense of “all blues” or "all instrumentals") but will feature a mix of styles. While not a "duets" CD per se, Sonny is also recording with several guest artists you’ll recognize… Stay tuned for more information as the release date draws near.