Concert Review: Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023

Concert Review: Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023

By Martine Ehrenclou

Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival was held in Los Angeles to a sold-out crowd. Over two days, some of the most iconic guitar players and artists in the world graced the stage. Incredible. Over 30 acts performed a variety of music genres and each of them are considered the best.

Since the two-day event was at Crypto in Los Angeles, a 20,000+ seat arena, you can imagine just how impressive this was. 16+ hours of performances including Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, Sheryl Crow, ZZ Top, John Mayer Trio, Keb’ Mo’ Taj Mahal, Robert Randolph, H.E.R, Gary Clark Jr. Santana, and more. And collaborations between the artists and bands that you just don’t see elsewhere. They performed inside the arena and outside at the Guitar Center Village Stage on Saturday and Sunday. The music spanned a wide array of genres including blues, blues-rock, rock, Country, bluegrass, R&B and more.

Crossroads Guitar Festival benefits Crossroads Centre Antigua Addiction Recovery Center

It’s too much to review two full days of performances, from epic musicians to up and coming artists you might not know about. Let’s start with the legendary musicians on Day 1. Bill Murray opened the show with his casual manner and a few lively jokes. “The sooner we get started, the sooner we can all go berserk,” he said.

Slide guitar master Sonny Landreth kicked off the live music and guitar legend Eric Clapton joined him and the band on “Walking’ Blues.” I was just walking into the arena during this song—parking and traffic in downtown Los Angeles is not the easiest to navigate.

After Sonny Landreth and the Del McCoury Band with Jerry Douglas, performed a country-ish set, the Canadian JUNO award-winning band The Bros. Landreth played “Got To be You” and finished with “Made Up My Mind” by Bonnie Raitt. If you’ve never seen Joey and Dave, I highly recommend it. They’re under-recognized guitar players and songwriters.

Billy Murry, with his comedic candor, introduced Albert Lee who brought on Peter Asher for “A World Without Love.” A nice nod to the 60’s hit.

A jolt of energy hit the venue with Grammy winner Judith Hill. With her black Gibson SG guitar and powerhouse vocals, Hill packed her skills for this show and proceeded to light up the stage. Probably somewhat of an unknown to this particular crowd, Hill has performed with Prince and Michael Jackson. Part Tina Turner and part Aretha, Hill slayed it on her new single “Runaway Train” and “Give Your Love To Someone Else.” Sharing some vulnerable details about why she wrote the song, she proceeded to draw a standing ovation.

Dressed in a bright blue suit, blues titan Joe Bonamassa and his band of highly accomplished band members commanded the stage. Joe introduced guitar legend (that term is already overused in this review but it’s warranted) John McLaughlin. They honored the late Jeff Beck with “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers.” A mind-blowing tribute to Mr. Beck and a highlight of the day, beautifully played by Bonamassa and McLaughlin. Bonamassa then launched into the high-energy “Evil Mama” and “The Heart Never Waits.”

Grammy nominee Eric Gales took the stage. He’s a superstar in the making and one of the best guitar players I’ve seen. Pumping up the crowd with his mix of funk, rock, jazz and blues, his performance was not just good but great. Dressed in a gold bomber jacket and black cap, Gales lets loose with his guitar. Otherworldly. I heard many people seated near me say “Oh, wow.” It’s a gutsy move to perform a rip roaring instrumental to start off his set, but Gales was in his element—powerful, soulful, and into the groove. All eyes were on him.

Samantha Fish, dressed in black leather with her white Gibson SG in hand, joined Gales on stage for a killer cover of “I Put A Spell On You”. Never better. And the crowd loved her. Yelling, clapping, whistling. Fish is a beloved and award-wining guitarist, singer and songwriter. Live, she’s electrifying. The stage is definitely her friend. Grammy winner Christone Kingfish Ingram joined Gales and Fish and kicked out one of his acclaimed blues rockers, “Long Distance Woman.” Watch Video of Gales, Fish and Ingram here 

I would have been happy if that’s all I’d seen right there. But there’s so much more!

Bill Murray introduced Sheryl Crow and raved, “She’s Here!” An acoustic reprieve from the raucous array of artists, Sheryl Crow sat down with her acoustic guitar and confessed to recovering from a cold. No one would have ever known. Her voice was clear and she hit those high notes on “Every Day Is A Winding Road” and “Redemption Day” with ease. She connected to the audience by sharing intimate details about herself, her journey as a musician. The following day, Crow appeared with her band, which included Audley Freed on guitar, dressed for performance. What a set that was and she played her hits and one original song. John Mayer joined her on “My Favorite Mistake.”

One barrier to the great event, literally and figuratively, was a steel fence between us and a half dozen cameramen filming and security seated with their backs to the stage. Even though in the second row, we were about 20-30 feet from the stage which generated a separation from the artists and bands. But the concert was being filmed for a DVD, so be it.

The great bluesman Taj Mahal played a meaningful, solo acoustic set, including “Catfish Blues.” On Sunday he and Keb’ Mo’ performed together, a mountain of groove and talent with Keb’ Mo’ revealing his respect for his mentor as he introduced him. First Keb’ Mo’ put into play “The Worst Is Yet To Come” and his hit “Government Cheese”. Mo’ sings with humor and grace, his guitar chops elegant. He and Mahal collaborated on a few songs including Mahal’s tune “Wild About My Lovin’”.

A special but brief treat was John Mayer Trio with Mayer, Steve Jordan on drums and Pino Palladino on bass. This talented trio has the tightest sound. They ended their set with Jerry Garcia’s “They Love Each Other.”

Closing out Day 1, ZZ Top with Billy Gibbons on vocals and guitar, Elwood Francis on bass and Frank Beard on drums, performed a few of their hits with a dose of fun and humor, including “Just Got Paid”, “Legs” and “La Grange” using their fir-covered lavender guitar and bass on a couple of tunes.

Haven’t had enough yet? There’s still Day 2!

Satiated after Day 1, there were amazing artists I still wanted to see on Day 2. I met a friend there and we rehashed the previous day, gabbed about the crowd that grew louder as the night wore on. We both share a thing about not talking during concerts and focusing on the bands.

Robert Randolph and his pedal steel kicked off the second day with killer groove that drew the audience to its feet only a couple minutes into the show. That’s how good he is. Dressed in a red hat and sparkly glasses, the six-time Grammy nominee and member of New Orleans royalty, was joined by Joe Bonamassa and Eric Gales to perform “Foxy Lady” by Jimi Hendrix. A showstopper indeed.

“Foxy Lady”

 
After Country artist Ben Haggard (yep, you guessed it—that Haggard), celebrated jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, Marcus King, Sheryl Crow, Citizen Cope and Robert Randolph performed, the entire venue was speechless once Grammy winner H.E.R got to the stage.

Appearing with her neon blue Strat and long dark hair, H.E.R grabbed 20,000 people and didn’t let go. And by the time she played “Comfortable” and “Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz, every single person in Cypto was standing. I didn’t expect this audience to embrace her in the way they did with her big dose of R&B, hip-hop and gospel before the one rock song at the end of her set. A highly talented guitarist and singer, H.E.R also had a dynamic show with backup singers and dancers beefing up the energy on stage.

Following an excellent bluegrass finger picking set by Grammy winner Molly Tuttle and two time Grammy nominee Sierra Hull, both with skills, Los Lobos (Southern California favorites) played their hits and ended with “La Bamba.”

A standout of the evening was Gary Clark Jr who is one of the most emotional guitar players and singers around. And one of the best. He sang falsetto not unlike Curtis Mayfield and then slammed it on guitar. Gary performed four songs including “The Healing” and “When My Train Pulls In”. With the spirit of Hendrix and early blues greats in his sound, he nailed it. Simply by being him. Authentic. Real. The crowd loved him and let him know it. Genuinely touched, he said with meaning “I love you too.”

The finale was grand as expected with Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills and Stevie Wonder on “Love The One You’re With.” Santana and Clapton closed out the show with “Black Magic Woman” “Oye Como Va” and “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors.

Eric Clapton pulled together amazing talent and a variety of musicians. There was something for everyone. It was a magnificent two days.

Watch Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder & Nathan East