Pullin’ ‘Tubes: Kind Of Blues

In a recent issue of Rolling Stone, the venerable music magazine did something that caught me a bit by surprise, as they dedicated their lead album review to The Bright Lights – a four-song EP by 27-year-old Austin-based blues revivalist Gary Clark Jr.’s that garnered four out of five stars. The 500-plus word piece, penned by Will Hermes, opens with the question – “When was the last time a young blues guitarist really blew your mind?” Anointing Clark as a “genuine 21st-century bluesman,” Hermes placed him ahead of an impressive list of liked minded contemporaries such as Derek Trucks, Jack White, Dan Auerbach and Ben Harper.

With such boastful and passionate claims, our interest was piqued, especially when Hermes bandied about further correlations to a weighty list of players from Jimi Hendrix to Miles Davis to Kurt Cobain. Let’s check out this blistering seven-plus minute version of the EP’s title track, from last year’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, which features Clark playing a with a muscular band that includes two drummers, a rhythm guitarist and bass player…

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Gary Clark Jr. will play a mix of headlining club shows, support dates and festival slots on his current tour including an appearance at moe.down XII on September 3 in Mohawk, New York.