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Left: Citizen Cope
(right) plays his song “Hands of the Saints” during Eric Clapton’s set. Right: Eric Clapton’s famous Blackie (the real deal) was on display with his Cream-era Gibson ES-335 and
Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Lenny (both not pictured) in a temperature- and humidity-controlled booth in the Guitar Center Village.
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One Big Family
Talking with the performers, a common
theme kept appearing: As Derek Trucks
put it, “It feels like a really surreal family
reunion.” The fun, celebratory vibe woven
through each set had its roots backstage,
where old friends were catching up and new
friends were being made.
“It was great. You walk 10 feet, see someone
you haven’t seen in a while, and give them a
big hug,” explains Warren Haynes, who shared
his set with Trucks. “Then you walk 20 more
feet and introduce yourself to someone you’ve
never met but that you’ve wanted to meet for a
long time. It was kind of like that all day long.”
Jonny Lang, whose set with Guy and Wood
set the gold standard for the vibe, agrees.
“It was a no-pressure situation for everybody
that performed that day. Even for the guys
that were on tour, it was like a day off to
hang with their buddies, have some fun, and
make some music.”
The relaxed atmosphere can be attributed
to the man behind the festival, the man
a generation of guitar freaks used to call
“God”: Eric Clapton. Slowhand kicked off
the day jamming with emcee Bill Murray on
the Buddy Holly track “Not Fade Away” for a
small crowd of early arrivers. It was clear that
Clapton keeps it casual, appearing onstage
in white shorts and orange sneakers for a
surprise sit-in with Doyle Bramhall II, Sheryl
Crow, and Gary Clark Jr. Clapton’s attitude
also extended to the diverse set of artists he
brought together for the show.
Trucks sums it up: “It’s one of the few places
where everybody shows up and just checks
their ego and all of the baggage at the door.
There are not too many people who could pull
that off. Eric is in a really unique spot where
his elders respect him and the younger generation
respects him—it’s a really great thing.”
A Gathering of Generations
All day long, the cross-generational nature
of the show was at the forefront: Onstage,
you had pairings like Citizen Cope and Eric
Clapton or Keb’ Mo’ and Albert Lee, and in
the audience there were many families with
their children and teenagers. The presence
of legends like Sumlin, Honeyboy Edwards,
King, Winter, and Guy was appreciated both
onstage (where, for some, their presence was
more important than their playing) and off.
“After our set, we went back to the dressing
room and sat down with Hubert Sumlin and
Johnny Winter for a while and just listened to
those guys tell stories and just hang. It was
pretty special,” says Trucks. “Sitting on the
bus with B.B. King and my 8-year-old son,
and watching those two interact—those are
things you don’t forget.”
For the youngest of the younger generation of
performers, 26-year-old Gary Clark Jr., being
one of the new guys was an experience in
itself. “Being so new to this whole thing and
not knowing a lot of these cats, I was really
nervous on soundcheck day, because I was
worried how I’d be received and how they’d
act around me. But by Saturday night I felt
welcomed and a sense of belonging,” Clark
explains. He also had the privilege of playing
with Clapton. “I never knew that Mr. Eric
Clapton was going to get up onstage with us
during our set. I was just playing, and then
there he was—that threw me for a loop.”
Jonny Lang, who played the first Crossroads
in 2004 at age 23, said, “Our goal for the set
was to fly by the seat of our pants and just
have as much fun as possible. Playing with
Buddy and Ronnie, I was just on cloud nine
the whole time. Musically, I don’t remember
much of what happened—we got onstage
and, before I knew it, the whole thing was
over [laughs].”
Amidst the old friends, younger players
like Lang and Clark found common ground.
“Jonny was really complimentary of what
I’ve been doing, and I’ve looked up to him
because he’s just a little bit older than me,”
Clark says. “We just have this mutual respect
thing going on.”
Meanwhile, another new friendship was being
forged between Vince Gill, who has played all
three Crossroads events, and Joe Bonamassa,
who made his first Crossroads appearance
this year. “I had no idea he was so young, I
really think the world of him,” Gill says. The
two hit it off and even discussed Gill lending
his guitar and vocal talents to a future
Bonamassa project. It wouldn’t be the first
collaboration Gill has done with Crossroads
colleagues. He worked with Sonny Landreth
on his latest album, and sat in with Clapton
when he played in Nashville this year.