Oh yeah…someone said last week in the Chattanooga Live Music scene, Buddy Guy will be in town Friday night at the Tivoli. I said you are correct, I said, the Legendary Bluesman can shred and burn strings off a stick. She said Really? I said Yes, REALLY!
I met Buddy Guy on stage at Riverbend a couple of years ago. He enjoyed the attention from the camera as well as his band. Whether at Riverbend in 2014 or this week at the Tivoli … when he stepped up to play and his band followed.
It was all business. His edgy personality meets well with his stiff and edgy blues until he starts bending strings and running the slide through them. It all breaks loose from there …. Several times he played selected comparisons to some of the great blues artists against his own style.
I always thought he was pretty fantastic and I love the blues make it smooth, jazzy or hot and crazy. Chattanooga has had the best on this stage in the past few months, Joe Bonamassa, Johnny Lang, Jason Isbell and others. However, no one has a style like Buddy Guy & The Damn Right Band. He slipped out on stage after being introduced by his keys player Marty Sammon, stepped up to the mic for an unbelievable set of his best numbers and shared some of his experience growing in difficult times with his hands gripped around the neck of a guitar.
Don’t let a man’s age fool you on his ability to entertain a crowd, Buddy will hit his 80thbirthday in July and it’s still full speed ahead. The audience got what they expected, AC Entertainment, Tivoli Foundation, me and everyone who has ever sit under the Blues teachings according to Buddy Guy got it. Buddy was born to play a guitar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRihhTQik2k ) and he will tell you that, also he was born to play the blues … and he shows it. I think the highlight of the night was when 15 year old boy wanted his guitar signed by Buddy Guy, he stood out in the rain and waited for 4 hours persistence to make it happen. What the young man Skylar Ellis did not know was later he would find himself on stage playing with no other that Legend Buddy Guy. Buddy Guy signed his Gibson Les Paul 2015 Anniversary edition Standard 100, when Buddy called him to the stage, Buddy strapped his own White Fender and the two played more than 15 minutes to close the show. We captured a link by Carl Ellis posted this video credited by Corbin & Shauna Sneed this video on their cell phone …https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKQ7oRSeKE0
Buddy Guy is a genuine American treasure, and one of the final surviving connections to an historic era in the country’s musical evolution. And still, as one glorious track on Rhythm & Blues puts it, he claims that “All That Makes Me Happy is the Blues.”
On this tour with Buddy is one of his favorites. Singer, songwriter, producer, musician Tom Hambridge opened with a brilliant set for Blues legend Buddy Guy at the Tivoli Theatre on Friday night to a large crowd. Tom spent years touring & performing with many of the biggest names in the business. Tom is a Grammy® Award-Winning Producer, ASCAP Award Winning Singer/Songwriter, an accomplished session/touring Drummer and Solo Artist. He is also the recipient of six Grammy Nominations.
Originally from Buffalo, New York, Tom attended Berklee College of Music in Boston & now resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Since relocating to Nashville he has had remarkable success in the music industry. Countless songs have been recorded by many legendary stars including: Buddy Guy, Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Thorogood, ZZ Top, Billy Ray Cyrus, BB King, Rascal Flatts and Johnny Winter.
His accomplishments as a singer, percussionist, songwriter, producer would take pages here to note. His set list performed was some of his best including Shotglass, The Fixer, It Hurt So Bad, Nineteen, I Got Your Country Right Here, Upside Of Lonely. One of the songs I really enjoyed he penned was IT HURT SO BAD, in this link was performed by Susan Tedeschi ..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88LNk-_Tfr8
Tom very interactive with the audience. Tom, with the assistance of keyboard player Marty Sammon, thrilled the crowd as many knew of his songs but rarely hear the songwriter sing his own material.
Scott Chase with KZ106 Classic Rocks opened the stage for Tom Hambridge and Buddy Guy but also observed was Krystye Dalton of the Krystye Dalton Band and friend Melinda Roddy admiring the Mick Jagger & Friends display by KZ106.
I would encourage Chattanooga music enthusiast to follow:
Buddy Guy & The Damn Right Band on social media at https://www.facebook.com/therealbuddyguy/, you can find Tom Hambridge at https://www.facebook.com/hambridgetunes as well as the latest from Chattanooga Live Music https://www.facebook.com/ChattanoogaLiveMusic/
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Mark A Herndon, certified professional geologist and professional photographer grew up in Chattanooga area, graduated from the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. He is the Entertainment and Chattanooga cityscape landscape /event photographer affiliated with Chattanoogan.com and contributor to magazines, venues and various festivals including Riverbend Festival, Nightfall Music Series, Road To Nightfall, Riverfront Nights, Southern Brewery Festival, Roof Top Hop, Wine Over Water, Tivoli Theatre Foundation, AC Entertainment and other events. Media affiliation with www.chattanoogan.com
Check out more at www.facebook.com/chattanoogalivemusic
Email atMAHerndon@ChattanoogaLiveMusic.com