John Fogerty and Steve Winwood Packed Out Clearwater’s BayCare Sound

There was not a seat to be had at BayCare Sound Amphitheatre except for lawn seating and barely much of that left for this second to last show of the tour, to get the opportunity to see two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and Grammy winner legends. These musicians wrote some of the most prolific music of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Their combined setlists contained so many great hit tunes between the two of them, it kept the audience singing and dancing all night long.

Steve Winwood Opens the Night

Winwood, who is now 78, opened the show with the instrumental Traffic song “Glad”, then moving right into the masterpiece “Can’t Find My Way Home” by the super group Blind Faith he was in with his good friend guitar icon Eric Clapton. My favorite of the night was his cover of the late Timmy Thomas written, “Why Can’t We Live Together”. A Vietnam protest song, it is as relevant today as it was then. Steve’s Hammond B-3 sounded hauntingly beautiful throughout the Clearwater venue. Steve took it back to the 80’s with “Roll with It” and “Back in High Life.”

Another highlight from Steve was the 1967 rocker “Dear Mr. Fantasy” a classic from his band Traffic. Steve has a dynamic backing band starting with his daughter Lilly Winwood on backing vocals and keyboards. Paul Booth plays saxophone, flute, and keyboards; Nate Williams does keyboards and backing vocals; Tristan Banks, drummer and Edwin Sanz on percussion sitting next to Steve on the Hammond when not playing guitar. Steve closes out his set with his 1986 worldwide #1 hit “Higher Love” and the Spencer Davis Group hit “Give Me Some Lovin” from 1967 and is today a classic rock tune used in movies and of course performed by The Blues Brothers. People were dancing and singing, great way for Steve to end his portion of the show. Keep up with Steve on his website at www.stevewinwood.com

John Fogerty Celebrates His Legacy

Make way for “John Fogerty’s Creedence Clearwater Revival’s The Celebration Tour.” John has a lot to celebrate by turning 80 and getting the rights to his music back! Opening the show with a 5-minute video package of his life and career that brings us to the opening number which is, “Bad Moon Rising” complete with the moon rising on the big screen. CCR fans will love this setlist since fourteen of the songs are Creedence. My personal favorite is “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and John didn’t disappoint playing a live version.

This is a family show with both John’s sons, Shane and Tyler both playing guitar with their famous father. John introduces the other members of his, “Travelin’ Band” as he calls them which are, Doug Lamothe on Keyboards; Jesse Wilson plays bass; Richie Millsap, drums and Rob Stone, plays a mean sax. Fogerty also took us back to the 80’s with his tribute to baseball with “Centerfield.” John gave us a dose of “Fortunate Son” from 1969, an anti-war song that has meaning and plays just as well in our world today. Great songs will always stand the test of time.

John’s encore consisted of just that with CCR’s “Travelin’ Band” and “Proud Mary” which was first a #2 hit on the charts by Creedence that was written by John. Then it was made famous by Ike and Tina Turner in 1971 with an R&B high energy version and has been recorded and performed by dozens of artists. The show ended to thunderous applause for both John Fogerty and Steve Winwood bringing the Tampa Bay area a show of musical substance and fun at the same time! John has a new album out called “Legacy” which is a re-recorded version of Creedence songs. You can check it out at www.johnfogerty.com

Related Stories

• John Fogerty Revives Creedence in Clearwater’s Coachman Park
• New Venue, “The Sound” in Downtown Clearwater Opens June 28th
• Doobie Brothers Bring a STELLAR Show to Tampa’s Mid-Florida Amphitheatre

Vicky Sullivan Photos