Buddy Guy Celebrates the Big 90 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater

August 27, 2026 | Vicky Sullivan | Music | No Comments

On Sunday night ChicagoBlues guitar great Buddy Guy brought his birthday tour to Clearwater to a sold out crowd. At 90, he is still bringing the blues to generations of fans! There was every age in the audience of this amazing show.

Taj Farrant Sets the Tone

Opening the show was 17 year-old Australian guitar prodigy, Taj Farrant. Taj started playing at a young age and competed on Australia’s Got Talent at age 9! His sister Jazel jams with the band on both drums and keyboards. She played keys for this show along with the excellent five piece band backing him.

From playing his own music to covers of Stevie Ray & Double Trouble, Stevie “Superstition” Wonder to Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine”, the hour he spent on the stage had not one wasted second of bad time. After watching Taj, I had incredible hope for the future of blues, rock and guitarists. Buddy chose a great opening act to heat things up! Check out YouTube to catch Taj on AGT.

Buddy Guy Brings the Blues to Clearwater

Mr. Buddy Guy came on the stage and blew it away from the very first note with “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues.” Dressed in a black & white polka dot shirt, jeans and baseball cap, Buddy was salty, humorous and extremely sharp. The enthusiastic blues fans were on their feet for the 90 year-old Chicago bluesman.

He played covers of his friend’s music like B.B Kings “Rock Me Baby” and Albert King’s “Living on Dry Land.” Of course, his band was top notch and the lineup included Melvin Carlyle on drums, Ric Hall on guitar, Orlando Wright on bass and Dan Souvigny – keyboards. There was no big graphics show or wild lighting, just pure music.

For this Hendrix fan, he played a mash-up of “Foxy Lady” and “Purple Haze. During this, he came off stage, much to the surprise and delight of the crowd! Buddy was smiling and enjoying playing and being close to people. Back up to the stage, he played some licks of “Purple Haze” with a towel – wow!

There is a story that goes that Jimi Hendrix wanted to watch Buddy play one night in NYC, so he canceled his own gig to come to Buddy’s show, they met and became close friends, which influenced guitar rock & blues! The Clearwater performance carried that same guitar-centered spirit found in earlier Suncoast Post coverage of Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Ruth Eckerd Hall and G.E. Smith’s career in music.

A Family Finale and a 90th-Birthday Celebration

Buddy brought out his son Greg to join him on “Got My Mojo Workin.” Greg has some great chops, no doubt learned from his dad. He then brought Taj back to the stage for the finale. They jammed and Buddy threw out guitar pics and shook hands with audience members, as he waved goodnight to the fans.

He played one hour & fifteen minutes of non-stop music! Amazing show, mad respect for one of the greatest guitarists of our time!

Buddy’s 90th birthday is being celebrated on October 1st in New York City with a concert at Radio City Music Hall. The evening will feature an all-star lineup including Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Susan Tedeshi and Derek Trucks, Jon Batiste, Aloe Blacc, Joe Bonamassa, Billy F. Gibbons, Samantha Fish and many more with special surprise guests. You can check out Ticketmaster for info.