Fans who came out for a great night of music weren’t the only ones smiling February 27th when surprise guest Vince Gill appeared onstage at the Eric Clapton concert at Nashville’s Sommet Center. Both gentlemen guitarists traded licks and plenty of grins during the show’s acoustic set. Clapton introduced his “very good friend, Mr. Vince Gill!” to the stage to play on four songs including the Bessie Smith blues standard “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” as well as his own “Running on Faith” and the 80’s hit, “I’ve Got a Rock and Roll Heart.” Clapton generously gave Gill plenty of solo time on all of these songs, including the 1992 monster hit acoustic version of “Layla,” to Gill, who gracefully stepped up to the task of playing with his guitar hero and laid out perfectly executed leads that pleased both the crowd and his host, who signaled his approval with nods and wide smiles.
Gill returned to the stage at the end of the night for a final, fiery solo statement on the show’s encore, the Robert Johnson/Cream classic, “Crossroads.”
Gill is currently working on his next studio release and will appear with Clapton and nearly 30 other guitarists including Jeff Beck, Sheryl Crow and Buddy Guy at Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival on June 26 at Chicago’s Toyota Park. Clapton’s current American concert tour continues through March 13.
Submitted by Morris Public Relations
