Two Buddy Guy Events on July 20:

·        Guitar hero to receive state award at free Millennium Park concert with Jimmie Vaughan and Lou Ann Barton at 8 p.m.

·        Legend’s club to host Buddy Guy CD release party with Matthew Skoller Band and special guests at 9:30 p.m.

by Linda Cain

photos by: Jennifer Wheeler

            A free outdoor concert honoring Chicago blues legend, Grammy-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Buddy Guy will be held on July 20 at 8 p.m. in Millennium Park at the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, IL.  Texans Jimmie Vaughan and the Tilt A Whirl Band with singer Lou Ann Barton and special guests will perform a tribute to the influential artist.  Guy will receive the first ever Great Performers of Illinois Award for his contributions to popular music and American culture. WXRT’s Tom Marker, host of the Bluesbreakers show, will emcee.

            Millennium Park is located in downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe Streets. The concert pavilion is hard to miss, with its stunning modern-art architectural sculpture that rises over the stage.

            Jimmie Vaughan, brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, was the original lead guitarist for the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Powerhouse singer Lou Ann Barton performed in Triple Threat with Stevie Ray and W.C. Clark in their early days in Austin, TX. All of them were influenced by Buddy Guy.

The concert is part of the Great Performers of Illinois Festival, which runs July 18-20, and is presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Office of Tourism, and the Illinois Arts Council. The series will feature more than 50 performers from across the state.

After the outdoor show, Buddy Guy will move over to his Legends nightclub, located at 754 S. Wabash, to celebrate the release of his new CD, Skin Deep, on the Zomba label. Harmonica Hinds will perform acoustic sets from 3 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. The Matthew Skoller Band will headline at 9:30 p.m., with other acts yet to be announced. There is a $20 cover. Doors open at 3 p.m. and close at 2 a.m.

Legends also serves up Louisiana style cuisine and other menu items, so blues fans won’t starve.

Skin Deep, to be released in the stores on July 22, is the first Buddy Guy album to contain all original songs. Some of the five-time Grammy winner’s best musician pals appear on the CD, including Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and Robert Randolph (all of whom shared the stage at Clapton’s Crossroads Festival in Bridgeview, IL last summer; Buddy Guy closed the 11-hour show).

For more info on the Millennium Park/Great Performers of Illinois Concert visit:

www.greatperformersofillinois.com

  or   www.millenniumpark.org

For info on Buddy Guy’s CD Release party:

www.buddyguys.com  or call 312-427-1190