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Buddy Guy, left, and Robert Randolph and The Family Band will perform at Artpark in Lewiston.
Buddy Guy, left, and Robert Randolph and The Family Band will perform at Artpark in Lewiston.

Artpark: Buddy Guy celebrates 77th birthday with new album and tour

by jmaloni

Press release

Fri, Jul 26th 2013 02:45 pm

Blues legend performs in Mainstage Theater Aug. 1

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Buddy Guy, winner of six Grammys, the National Medal of Arts, and recognized by Rolling Stone Magazine as No. 30 on it list of the 100 top guitarists of all time, will be joined by Robert Randolph and The Family Band on Thursday, Aug. 1, at Artpark's Mainstage Theater.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and will feature 14-year-old guitar prodigy Quinn Sullivan as special guest to the Buddy Guy Band.

Tickets are $45 for pit and prime seating; $37 for section A; and $30 for sections B and C.

Artpark welcomes alumni artist Guy back to the Mainstage Theater. He first performed at the venue during its opening season 40 years ago with Junior Wells.

Guy will release his new studio album, "Rhythm & Blues," on his 77th birthday, July 30 - just two days before his Artpark appearance. The follow-up to his 2010 Grammy-winning album "Living Proof," this double-disc masterpiece features first time studio collaborations with A-list artists Kid Rock, Keith Urban, Gary Clark Jr., Beth Hart and Aerosmith members Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.

Produced by Grammy-winning producer/songwriter and longtime collaborator Tom Hambridge (Skin Deep, Living Proof), "Rhythm & Blues" captures the 76-year-young Guy at the peak of his creativity. Replete with heartfelt vocals, straightforward lyrics and mesmerizing guitar licks, "Rhythm & Blues" not only exemplifies how blues continues to be the foundation of all genres of today's music, it also illustrates why Guy has been influential in the careers of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan and more. 

Also on stage Thursday is Robert Randolph and The Family Band.

When Randolph talks about his new album, "Lickety Split," a few words come up over and over: "joy," "freedom," "energy." Which is no surprise, really, because those are the same things that immediately spring into a listener's mind when these 12 tracks from the virtuoso pedal steel guitarist and his longtime accompanists, The Family Band, explode out of the speakers.

"Robert Randolph is an American original," said Don Was, president of Randolph's new label, Blue Note Records. "He has mastered what is, arguably, the most complex instrument in the world, and developed a unique voice that is equal parts street-­corner church and Bonnaroo. This album finally captures the energy and excitement of his legendary live performances."

Tickets for the Aug. 1 concert are available in person at the Artpark Box Office (Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.), by phone at 716-754-4375 or 1-888-223-6000, and online at www.artpark.net or www.tickets.com.

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