Chicago – Grammy Award winner Gary Clark Jr. brings his live performances to an even wider audience with Gary Clark Jr. Live, out this week on Warner Bros. Records. The release features two-discs filled with electrified originals, like “Blak and Blu,” and classic covers, such as Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone From The Sun.” To quote the thirty-year-old singer-songwriter and guitar maven, “The mind-space I always get in is ‘just let it go.’” Indeed, this soulful Texan lets loose when he performs live, not even using a set list; instead choosing to let the vibes of the crowd dictate his musical register. He embodies all that is B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, but with his mix of blues, jazz, soul, country, rock, R&B, funk, and hip hop, the living legend known as Gary Clark Jr. is in a class of his own.

Clark has been playing the blues since the age of 12 in his native Austin. In 2010, at 26, he played Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival and landed a recording deal with Warner Bros. He soon released the critically acclaimed Blak and Blu and began playing festival after festival, from Coachella and Hangout, to Sasquatch!, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza, earning a reputation as a phenomenal live performer and packing in the crowds. He played with blues legend B.B. King, opened for The Rolling Stones, and performed for President Obama at the White House.

Rolling Stone anointed him “The Chosen One,” we named Clark 2012’s Newbie Award winner for Best New Male Artist, and Best New Bands’ Caroline McDonald wrote: “Watching Clark play felt a bit like stepping under a waterfall—invigorating, exciting, ear-ringing.” Gary Clark Jr. Live allows you to feel that rush at home, in the car, or wherever you are whenever you’d like with 15 stunning songs on two discs or double vinyl.

The first half of the album beholds a mix of new and old, uptempo and downbeat. Clark’s howls in “Travis County” bring a little bit of Texas to you, and his guitar riffs will make you “scream and shout” as Clark sings about his first time getting arrested for smoking pot. “Don’t Owe You A Thing” begs you to clap along, and King Zapata and Gary Clark Jr.’s guitar solos might have you slithering around between energetic dance fits. Then there’s the beautiful and tender “Things Are Changin’” and the sexy Lowell Fulson cover of “Three O’ Clock Blues” which usher in the need for leisured breaths.

Another winner – although really, every track on Gary Clark Jr. Live is a winner – is “When My Train Pulls In.” From the start, the rhythm seeps into your body, urging you to chug along with it like a steam engine inching around the bend. “Next Door Neighbor Blues” will also make you move to the beat, stomping your feet and wagging your finger at the mean little girl who “moved in next door.”

On the second half of Gary Clark Jr. Live, the soulful cries of Clark’s voice and guitar in the Grammy-award winning “Please Come Home” will have you closing your eyes and shaking your head in reverence and awe, and just when you thought the man couldn’t possibly amaze you further, you hear that killer guitar solo.  You’ll probably start clapping and whistling as if Clark was performing right in front of you, cheering him on for more.

This half also features Hendrix and Albert Collins covers, including the wicked “If Trouble Was Money,” and the song that really put Clark on the map: “Blak and Blu.” Its stellar intro will charm you all over again, and Clark’s sultry voice is capable of melting hearts.

Just like Howlin’ Wolf, Hound Dog Taylor, and Muddy Waters, one day Gary Clark, Jr. will be called a legend among men, the musician of our generation, and when parents school their children in what “real music” is, they’ll reference the guitar wizard who ignited a fire in their bones and pull out a copy of Gary Clark Jr. Live.

Gary Clark Jr. Live is a “must have” for your music collection. You can download a digital copy through iTunes. You can also order it on CD or vinyl on Amazon or at GaryClarkJr.com. To see Gary Clark Jr. live, head over to his facebook to view a list of tour dates.

Top Photo By Bruce Johnson – Slider Photo By Nate Burrell

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Sarah Hess

At the age of six, Sarah Hess discovered True Blue by Madonna. This resulted in her spending hours in front of the bathroom mirror with a hairbrush microphone, belting out "La Isla Bonita" off key. Her love for music only intensified over the years thanks to her parents; her mother exposed Sarah to The Jackson Five and had her hustling to the Bee Gees, while her father would play her albums like 'Pet Sounds' and 'Some Girls' from start to finish, during which he'd lecture on and on about the history of rock & roll. Sarah would eventually stumble upon rap and hip-hop, then punk and alternative, and fall madly in love with Jeff Buckley and film photography.

After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.


You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.

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