Buddy Guy, a world-renowned blues legend, was announced as the headliner for blues night at Bluesfest Windsor on Friday, July 12, 2019. Then 82 years young (born July 30, 1936), the now eight-time Grammy award winner's 2018 album, *The Blues Is Alive and Well* – his eighteenth solo LP at the time – showcased the raw, unadulterated sound aficionados and genre newbies crave.
Buddy Guy is ranked 30th in Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and an eight-time Grammy award winner. Guy broke boundaries between musical genres, influencing an impressive roster of legendary musicians throughout his career including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards, John Mayer, Slash and more. An outstanding live performer, audiences are intrigued by his unique ‘Chicago blues’ style that bridges rock and blues. Guy’s guitar technique has heavily influenced rock and roll, pioneering distortion and feedback techniques, long solos and shifting between volumes and texture. His sound features the deepest traditional blues to a more edgy flair, blended with rock, soul and free jazz. His song “Stone Crazy” was ranked 78th in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.
Eric Gales is a guitarist of monumental proportions. As both an African-American left-handed guitarist of extraordinary ability and an expressive vocalist, it is natural for people to compare Eric to Hendrix, but Eric has developed a unique hybrid blues/rock sound that also draws upon influences as diverse as Albert King and Eric Johnson. A unique amalgam of styles, Eric Gales stands head and shoulders among other guitarists in his genre.
Texas-born Sugaray began his musical career before the age of 7, singing & playing drums in church. His gospel influence can be heard and felt in his music. Rayford's phrasing is intimate and conversational, with a powerful, sexy, & soulful voice. This marked his third appearance at Bluesfest in as many years.
Bluesfest Windsor, which had expanded from one long weekend to two, ran July 5-6 and 12-13, 2019, at Riverfront Festival Plaza in Windsor, across from Caesars, along the Detroit River.
