Written by Susan Dumont-Bengston
Five-time Grammy® award winner Robert Cray Band returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Sunday, October 20
Every time Robert Cray and his band play The Ridgefield Playhouse, it’s a sold-out show. Maybe it’s because his breakthrough album Strong Persuader, which featured the hit “Smoking Gun” won five Grammy® awards and Robert Cray himself, a six-string blues-rock guitar prodigy, is on par with Eric Clapton. Robert Cray and his band are returning to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Sunday, October 20, at 8 p.m. Special guest is Petey Hop, a rock, blues, country artist with a new album The Levee. This show is underwritten by Acousticmusic.org and partially underwritten by Big W’s BBQ and The Manhattan Club with media sponsor i95fm The Home of Rock ‘n’ Roll. It is part of the Xfinity Rock Series.
Robert Cray describes his signature style as “…a little rock, soul, jazz, blues, a little gospel feel…a little Caribbean flavor or something.” His innovations as a blues artist are evident in “Chicken in the Kitchen” and “That’s What Keeps Me Rockin'”. With five Grammy Awards, 15 nominations, millions of record sales worldwide and thousands of sold out performances, rock/blues icon Robert Cray is considered “one of the greatest guitarists of his generation.” Rolling Stone Magazine (April 2011) credits Cray with reinventing the blues with his “distinct razor sharp guitar playing” that “introduced a new generation of mainstream rock fans to the language and form of the blues” with the release of his Strong Persuader album in 1986. Since then, Cray has gone on to record fifteen Billboard charting studio albums and has written or performed with everyone from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonnie Raitt and John Lee Hooker.
Recently inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at the age of 57, Robert Cray is one of the youngest living legends to receive the prestigious honor. And while he can look back over an astonishing three-decade career punctuated by his trademark sound and distinct style, Robert Cray is too busy moving forward on an amazing journey that saw him release his sixteenth studio album, Nothin But Love, and embark on yet another world tour. The current line-up is Cray (vocals/guitar), Jim Pugh (keyboards), Richard Cousins (bass) and Tony Braunagel (drums).
For tickets ($65), call the box office at 203-438-5795, or buy tickets online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.
Article Source: news.hamlethub.com