Eric Clapton's fourth Crossroads Guitar Festival kicks off tonight at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
Besides Clapton, this year's lineup includes Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughan, the Allman Brothers Band, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Cray and Vince Gill. Check out the complete lineup below.
The two-night festival is the culmination of Clapton's US tour, which kicked off March 14 in support of his new album, Old Sock. All profits from the festival will benefit The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility founded by Clapton for chemically dependent people. The festival is presented by Chase.
“The Crossroads Festival is the realization of a dream for me, to gather a group of amazingly talented musicians to perform on one stage,” Clapton said. “The Crossroads performers are all musicians I admire and respect.”
In addition to the concerts, the Guitar Center Road to Crossroads Exhibition will be featured on the terrace level at MSG. The exhibition will feature the “Legends Guitar Walk," with some of the most valuable guitars in the history of rock and blues, including guitars from Guitar Center’s Legends Collection featuring Clapton’s two most famous Fender Strats, "Blackie" and "Brownie," his Gibson ES-335 and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s "Lenny" Fender Strat, plus selections from Guitar Center, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Experience Music Project.
Fender, Gibson, Ernie Ball and Martin will host interactive exhibits where guitar lovers can plug in and play new products and classic favorites, while all visitors will be able to peruse memorabilia and watch archival footage of once-in-a-lifetime performances from prior Crossroads festivals on video walls throughout the exhibition. The “Road to Crossroads Exhibition” open 6:30 p.m. today and 6 p.m. Saturday and is free to all ticket holders.
CURRENT CROSSROADS FESTIVAL ARTIST LISTING (Note: Two different nights of music. Not all artists will perform both nights)
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
