I just got home from a truly special concert. It’s late and I am completely drained, but I can’t bring myself to go to bed without sharing this experience with you.
I went to see blues legends B.B. King and Buddy Guy perform at the Beacon Theatre. I’ve had the tickets since the day they went on sale and have been eagerly awaiting the show like a little kid waiting for his birthday. Both men met my high expectations, but they had a special surprise in the form of a nine year-old boy named Quinn Sullivan that pushed the evening to unexpected heights.
I guess I should start from the beginning…
Buddy Guy took to the stage and did his usual routine, jumping between quiet blues, grand solos filled with instrumental madness, and onstage schtick (which is typical of bluesmen of his vintage). It was a lot of fun.
Then he announced that he was bringing out this kid and I’m not going to lie, I was a little disappointed. I thought to myself, “I’m here to see two of the greatest blues guitarists in history, what the hell can this kid offer that wouldn’t water down the experience?”
Then he started playing.
If I didn’t see the kid with my own eyes and know his age – If he played from behind a curtain, I would have thought he had been playing for decades. However, he wasn’t even a decade old.
Quinn was ridiculous. He had it all: taste, chops, and panache.
Quinn and Buddy traded licks, played some Hendrix, and the song ”Whose Gonna Fill Those Shoes” from Buddy’s latest album Skin Deep (iTunes & Amazon). It turns out that the song’s title is a rhetorical question as the studio recording also features Quinn. Then Buddy put his guitar away and the band finished the set with Buddy on vocals and Quinn on lead guitar.
After an intermission B.B. King’s Blues Band took to the stage and jammed through two songs before introducing the man himself. He made his way out to a chair at center stage and then just did his thing.
If you’ve never seen B.B. live, it’s a different kind of entertainment experience. He spends about half of his time playing his heart out and the other half chatting with the audience. In addition to his tremendous musical talents, the 83 year-old bluesman is also pretty damn funny.
In the middle of his set, he brought Buddy and Quinn on stage. The three of them were a sight to see. B.B. remarked, “I don’t know where you get it from… I didn’t even pick up a guitar until I was 12.”
Buddy and Quinn departed and B.B. finished out his exceptional set.
It was an evening that I hope I never forget.
Upon returning home I looked up young Quinn Sullivan.
According to his MySpace page, he has been playing since he was three.
At six he was on the Ellen Degeneres Show where he played some Beatles Twist and Shout, and a blues rock jam:
Seven year-old Quinn playing Beatles/ Clapton ballad While My Guitar Gently Weeps:
Here is Quinn playing B.B. King classic, The Thrill is Gone at age eight:
Quinn play’s Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Texas Flood at nine with Buddy’s brother Phil Guy:
Finally, here is Quinn with Buddy:
I hope we get to see more of Quinn Sullivan in the future. He has a solo single available at iTunes & CD Baby.
I attended the Beacon concert last night, and didn’t get the kid’s name until later in the show. Listening to him play, then WATCHING him play (through high-powered binoculars), I convinced myself he had to be Derek Trucks’ son! His stolid facial appearance while playing – no emoting, no wincing, no lip-biting stuff – and attitude (pure confidence, no showing off, almost aloof) were exactly like Trucks. I can’t believe he doesn’t have some Trucks genes in him!
Amazing! What a phenominal talent. Look forward to seeing this kid play years from now.
I attended the same show last night and, with all due respect, I couldn’t be at more odds with your assessment. That Buddy Guy has a penchant for turning an otherwise titanic performance of his own into a train wreck in order to attach himself to the next ‘great white hope’ is not new news as we’ve witnessed the likes of Joe Bonamassa and Jon Meyer shootouts over the years. But to insult a profound moment, such as what might be the last joint appearance of Buddy and B.B. in this area and this life, with such a pandering to Blues club circuit hoi polloi degrades and debases the Blues. Does anyone truly believe that all it takes to understand and communicate an artform with such infinite depth requires no more than fingers scurrying up and down the neck of an electric guitar spewing trite cliches? God help us all if that be the case…
@ plynth222 – I believe it’s possible to get so tied to the roots of a particular genre of music that you become inured and even hostile to its development over time. Certainly no 9-yr old – especially a white 9-yr old – could or would ever truly profess to be a product of the roots of Blues. I don’t think he or anyone who plays blues should be forced to do that. Otherwise, the Blues would never have morphed so wonderfully from its rather depressing and depressed roots to what the world now enjoys. I doubt Robert Johnson would object to that observation, and expect that he would have made it himself were he alive to hear last night’s performance. BB King himself (I believe it was BB) started with a home-made guitar fashioned from a cigar box and a cut-off broom handle. When he started, electrifying the instrument was unheard of. But aren’t we all thrilled that he adopted Lucille and played her so well that others would try to equal or surpass him? Last night, I believe we experienced the passing of a torch to a generation of young performers who will thrill Blues lovers – as BB and Buddy have done – for years to come. God bless ‘em.
David, I said nothing about who can or should play blues, what I indicated was actual fact. that Buddy has this apparent need to either attach himself or lend himself to what he perceives as being the next generation blues guitar gunslinger. Friends tell me pretty much every New York show he’s done over the past seven to ten years has evidenced that.
Here’s the deal, I laid $100 down to see the artists whose name appeared on the ticket and marquee last night. And I say again, it is a gift at this stage of the game to see Buddy and B.B share the same bill, let alone same stage, and to have one second diverted to an amateur is just not right and borderline fraud. It was an insult to the audience and it was an insult to B.B., who is obviously one of the more gracious spirits on the planet.
As to “what kind of blues there are,” IMO there’s only two: Blues and Not Blues, and this arrogant, inadequate, somewhat technically equipped child is in the latter category. Derek Trucks is an enormous, sometimes transcendent talent and cannot be placed in the same sentence as someone so utterly inexperienced.
Virtually all the third, fourth or fifth generation electric Blues wunderkinds that have come around seemed to draw almost exclusively upon a single source, Stevie Ray Vaughan. In order to play the goods, you need to study something a lot deeper than that for inspiration. But continue to enjoy your “anyone can come to the garden (variety) party of blues, David. I’m sure you will find the likes of The Lighty Quinn entertaining for decades to come…
Pan Kai-wen, I enjoyed reading your thoughtful insights and find myself in agreement with much of what you offer here. It is very easy, as you observe, to limit the growth of “art” by pre-conceptions as to “what it’s supposed to be.” I fully embrace that sort of growth as it applies to Blues otherwise I would just be listening to Charlie Patton and Blind Willie Johnson and call it a day!
But the fact of the matter is that there are those truly gifted who’ve been able to contribute to the dialogue by harnessing the Blues, writing in the “language” of the Blues, be it the Rolling Stones, Cream, Allman Bros, et al. The electric guitar as an instrument of heroic proportions owes more to T-Bone and BB than it might to Chuck Berry, so that is what should be kept in mind as that next generation player comes along: what are they bringing to the table. Is it something new and inspired or more of the same.
There are those who are innovators, or at least draw upon and sometimes transcend their inspirations, such as a Derek Trucks and others who just play the instrument as fast and loud as they can. My ears and heart are totally open to hearing all that there is out there in the hopes that there will be more guys like Derek and less like those who are focusing on age and supposed technical abilities. I find a guy like Doyle Bramhall II someone of considerable depth who offers something different. He can have some lackluster nights as well, but when he’s on, he’s truly a force. Doyle and Derek have chops and they have speed, but it is the depth, intelligence and being truly tapped in to that incredible something that only the true greats can find their way to…
Plynth222, I agree with much of your later assessments, but you speak of Trucks like he is an untouchable talent, and I agree with you that he is. However, when he first took to the stage with the Allman Brothers at 13 (I believe) I promise you that there were no shortage of listeners who were “insulted” by his presence as you were with Sullivan’s presence last night. I have little doubt that there were people who said, “he has the speed, but he’s an amateur and has no place on the stage with such an exceptional band. I laid down $XX to see the Allman brothers, not Butch Trucks’ nephew.”
Without those opportunities to stand on stage and grow, where do you think he would be? Probably on the long list of talented guitarists that no one has ever heard of.
Furthermore, when you paid $100.00 for your ticket, you paid to see BB King and Buddy Guy perform the way they want to. You didn’t buy tickets to see a some play that is the same every night. These guys do what they want, how they want, and with whomever they want. And for the record, Derek Trucks does too. Last time I saw him, he brought some local talent on stage too.
Finally, I appreciate your passion over this issue, but reframing this from a passionate discussion over issues to a personal attack will not get you anywhere.
David, I totally agree, there were undoubtedly plenty of folks who were not feeling the love when a 12 or 13-year-old Derek took to the stage with the Brothers. And, without a doubt, had I been there, I would have been one of them. I just went to YouTube and pulled up a clip of Derek playing at that tender age in a club and found a world of difference in the promise he portended and so many others. For starters, he was on slide. A gift is a gift is a gift and there’s some kind of genetic and historical inheritance he’s been bequeathed, along with a serious and intensive study.
But if you want to reframe this discussion to be about how an artist’s show should be run, that’s fair enough. In that context, I agree that artists can do anything they want, but if they don’t deliver what an audience on a whole has paid for–and there are lots of plusses and minuses to that–that audience may not be there the next time around. Frankly, the people I’ve chosen to see in live performance over the years are those who are decidedly not cookie cutter and never play the same thing the same way twice. But there’s a big difference in improvisation as musical expression versus running a version of American Blues Idol. Last night I felt we had something shoved down our throats and not for a short period of time. You want to bring a new talent out for a song, do it if you must and do it quickly. Buddy was at the TOP of his game last night–something that for a variety of well known reasons isn’t always the case–and this was an utter and total distraction for a lot of us.
There’s a very cool extended recording of the Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper at the Fillmore East, the live Super Session show. I think it was late 1968 and Mike brings up a then completely unknown Johnny Winter. I don’t need to tell you how fully realized as an artist Johnny was at that point and he killed. I don’t believe in gimmicks and I see the Blues field again and again being a place for extremely young players to carve a name. Is Buddy saying that there’s nobody between the age of 9 and 25 that we’ve never heard of that doesn’t deserve to be heard before young Quinn? I find that an incomprehensible consideration. Bring on the BEST of the new talent in an appropriate forum….
I can appreciate these points. I also agree that bringing out a 9 year-old can be construed as gimmicky and that there are tons of worthy guitarists in NYC alone whom Buddy could have chosen.
That being said, I love Buddy Guy, but he is kind of gimmicky. Yet at the same time, when you watch him play with this kid, I think Buddy sees something special and I think BB saw it too. He wasn’t just channeling SRV, and he wasn’t playing solos like wrote classical pieces. He was improvising on a very high level. I don’t know if you’ve ever worked with kids, but to see a 9 year-old do that just blew me away.
Is he fully realized? Hell no. But I’m hopeful that one day 10 or 20 years down the line (baring a substance abuse or ego burnout) I can play a Quinn Sullivan album for my kids and tell them about the time I saw him swap licks with Buddy Guy and BB King at the age of nine.
I was at last night’s show and was utterly disappointed when Buddy surrendered the stage to Quinn. Until that moment, Buddy was channeling all of the mojo that makes him the real deal. He was raw, emotive, blistering, tender, aggressive and thrilling. I have seen Buddy 18 times in the past 17 years and the first half of his set last night was deep. Then he introduced Quinn and in one fell swoop the show turned into a display of blues gimmickry, gimmickry that by design was made to impress. And based on the reaction of the guys from Jersey sitting next to me, impress it did. “And I thought Buddy could play that Telecaster! Wow!” I heard him tell his girlfriend. Then he added,“Love the sound of Tele. There’s no mistaken it.” Tele, Strat; Quinn, Buddy… to some there’s apparently no difference. And to those, perhaps Quinn is an instant blues great, a “talent” who belongs in “the ranks” of B.B. King and Buddy Guy.
There’s no question that (when he’s in the right key) Quinn can play the notes within the box. But he does so without feeling. And in my humble opinion the blues are not played they are expressed. They are a feeling, something that emanates from the soul and pours out of the fingers and the voice. That is why I listen to Buddy, B.B., Stevie, Muddy, and the rest of the greats. That is why I went to the Beacon last night: to be moved. I also went to show my appreciation to two American legends, artists who created it, changed it and did so without receiving (and still don’t receive) the proper amount respect for doing so. Just take B.B.’s recent experience at the Grammy’s.
While I believe that if one day, Quinn’s soul develops along with his technical skills he could prove to be a legitimate presence. But until that day comes, he should be relegated to playing rooms like Spero’s Sports Pub & Grill in Danvers.
Pan Kai-wen, you write about being witness to the “torch being passed.” Before you get lost in the romantic notion that we were all a part of blues history last night, here’s a opposing point of view. I was there when Johnny Lang and Kenny Wayne Sheppard, each had similar moments. And while Quinn can’t hold a candle to either, in terms of their skills and feel, neither has proved to be worthy of the thrown of the kings. In the early 90’s I saw a 12-year old phenom, by the name of Joe Bonamassa. The kid was billed as the next Stevie Ray. While he continues to record, I ask you, “Where is he now?” So, no the torch wasn’t passed last night, and I’m glad because as the old adage goes, “kids shouldn’t play with fire.”
littleboyblues, indicting the kid because a few idiots who sat near you liked him isn’t really a solid argument. It is however a funny story.
The simple truth is that guys like BB & Buddy share their stage. They have for years. Some of them go onto do big things like SRV (shared the stage with Albert King), many burnout, and some of them trudge alone at midlevel stardom like Joe Bonamassa (who I’m not a fan of, but he isn’t exactly a no one).
While these guys are still alive we really don’t know will pick up the torch with the exception of former regular Buddy Guy guest John Mayer (Who I like, but in my opinion is channelling Clapton a little too much). It sucks if you were disappointed, but if I can’t help but feel that if you didn’t see the slightest bit of something special last night, you didn’t want to.
David – To share is one thing. I agree with Plynth, one song and out is OK. But to surrender is another. Especially when the guest has a limited vocabulary with which to communicate. Now, it would’ve been a much different story had Ron Wood, who was in the house according to BB, took the stage. But only after Buddy played a few more songs in the zone in which he started off the night.
Regarding your opinion that the anecdote I referenced was an indictment of Quinn, you are mistaken. It was simply an example of how I believe some in the audience mistakenly believed they were seeing, as I believe you said, a player “in the ranks of BB and Buddy.”
To your observation that I didn’t want to see the slightest bit of something special in Quinn’s performance, I say perhaps you were far to eager in wanting to see something special. Thus your virtual shrine to Quinn.
littleboyblues – While I do live in New Jersey, I was not one of those guys sitting near you, and I do know the difference between a strat and a tele.
Condescending comments aside, as I mentioned in my original post, I was extremely skeptical when the kid walked on stage. I’ve never suggested that this kid was a fully realized guitarist, I am pointing out that he may be the start of something special. At the very least, there is something special about a kid that age playing the way he did. Maybe you feel slighted, but plenty of people in attendance disagree with you and in spite of what you may think, not all of the people who enjoyed him are fools (I know you haven’t outright said that, but your arguments certainly imply it).
Not every kid who’s great at nine years-old is going to be great at 25, 45 or 65. But the kid does have a head start. I see no reason to hold that against him. And sure, there’s novelty to his talent, but were it only novelty, I don’t expect King or Guy would welcome him to their stage.
I’m also jealous that I may never be as good at anything as Quinn Sullivan is at playing the guitar. I’m just not going to blame Quinn for it.
Amen. Jon. Amen.
“but plenty of people in attendance disagree with you and in spite of what you may think, not all of the people who enjoyed him are fools.” You don’t have to be a fool to be fooled, David. It’s like Littleboyblues is saying about communicating feeling, it’s all a wavelength thing, either you feel it or you don’t. There are those who might think Alvin Lee was a greater player than, say, Clapton or Peter Green. If that’s what reaches them, touches them, it’s difficult to argue. While I felt nothing but disdain when hearing the kid play yesterday, you and some of the others here got a different energy. That part can be relegated to the realm of the subjective, so in my highly subjective opinion, he was a noise machine who shouldn’t be allowed to play anything more than a rousing game of Guitar Hero in public. There just isn’t any THERE there. Anyone who says they can pick out this kid’s “style” from a hundred other circuit players is either lying or deaf…
As I have said many times before, I don’t completely disagree with you. The kid is unrefined and hasn’t had enough time on this Earth to develop an identifiable style of his own. It doesn’t mean there isn’t raw talent.
I also can’t honestly believe that you would feel as strongly if you didn’t see the kid and know his age. If he was an anonymous guitarist playing from backstage I don’t believe that you would have the same level of contempt. Granted, I wouldn’t have been anywhere near as impressed.
Either way, the kid is part of Buddy Guy’s art. He played on his studio recording, he shared the stage. I am maintaing my original premise – If Buddy Guy, an artist that we all adore and respect sees something there, who am I to argue?
You are also correct that this is subjective, but at the end of the day Buddy and BB’s opinion of who should be on stage with them carry considerably more weight than all of ours.
If this is such an outrage, don’t buy tickets to see them next-time they come thru. There are plenty of people who would be happy to see them play.
Well, one thing’s for sure, everybody weighing in here truly loves the music to be passionately debating it far into the wee wee hours.
We ALL want to see this precious American art form survive and thrive far into the future. So, in that sense it is heartening to know the seeds are still being planted out there at a time when there are many other choices. I think we’ve found our way to a lot of common ground and I agree with everything you’ve said in your current note. I appreciate your willingness to share your blog with a diversity of opinion and an open mind. Best wishes, David…
I can only consider myself a casual blues fan, but was disappointed at the lack of actual playing on B.B. King’s part. I recognize that he is an old man and didn’t expect him to be jumping around stage or shredding like Buddy Guy’s fantastic guitarist, and further realize that his ‘chatting’ bit is a signature style, but for the price of those tickets I would’ve expected more than the 30 or so minutes of actual playing that we got. Buddy Guy and that kid were absolutely mind-blowing, though, and as far as I’m concerned they completely justified my attendance.
Wow!!! I just spent the last 20 min. reading all these comments. I have truly enjoyed everybodys views on the Beacon show. Each of you had so many different opinions about the show yet you were all very passionate about your comments. Please allow me to share something with you. Quinn is a 9 yr old kid who loves playing his guitar. Is he in the same league as our legends?? No. Quinn is well aware of that. Buddy and Quinn have a friendship. When you watch the two of them go back and forth everyone in that room knows Buddy is in charge. Now, Plynth222….” ARROGANT,INADEQUATE”. Don’t you think you’re just a little out of line?? He’s 9 !! Let’s be fair. Quinn is anything but arrogant or inadequate. Those are personal attacks on a person you don’t even know. You’re going to base those personal attacks on a kid you saw on stage for what….20 min? I am in a position where I can read all these comments and appreciate the fact so many of you must be interested enough in Quinn to stay up until the wee hours of the morning writing about him in a negative or positive manner. Now, none of us can predict the future or what it holds for Quinn. I will predict one thing though. When I pick Quinn up from school today and give him a kiss and ask how his day went………..his answer will be anything but arrogant or inadequate.
Peace
Quinns Mom
I think you are just jealous cuz he’s the cream in the oreo cookie!!!
GOOOOOOOO QUINNNN!!!!!!!!
If you have taken the time to read this post, I humbly request that you also read this one.
http://geekwhisperin.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/musing-on-comments-a-slight-policy-change/
Thank you.
Check out this review of the BB King/Buddy Guy show at the Beacon that was on Jambase, a very reputable music website (notice what is said about the Quinn issue–I am not trying to beat a dead horse, but was interested by their take on the show)…
“The Beacon Theatre, the old New York relic of myth, had its doors closed for renovations for the better part of last year. Live Nation marked its reopening with a bang after a 15 million dollar face lift. The calendar included Levon Helm, fifteen nights of the Allman Brothers Band for their 40th Anniversary and an evening with blues legends B.B. King and Buddy Guy. Not too shabby, New York.
The Beacon, a converted movie house dating back to the roaring 1920s designed as the sister to Radio City Music Hall, is decked out with elegant golden Roman statues on either side of the stage. Gold plated lions and carved facial arrangements extend all the way to the rafters. Encasing the top of the stage is a see-through oriental scaffold with a setback glow of red. The three-tiered venue only spans 40-seated rows to the lobby, and to put into words the feeling of walking inside this inner sanctum is impossible. The goose bumps scurrying across one’s skin say enough.
On this particular evening, the experience was that much more unique as a rare trip to New York City placed Buddy Guy and B.B. King together on the same stage! Guy emerged first into the spotlight just after 8 o’clock with his black “BG” guitar strap glistening in the spotlight. The lights dimmed and dust danced in the spotlight protruding from the heavens.
“I’m gonna make you sweat,” Guy moaned into the microphone. The crowd couldn’t help but to applaud. Booming licks bounced off the Beacon’s walls and the energy exerted was that of a lighting bolt. There was something about Guy’s set that inspired jaw-dropping voyeurism. It is unlike New York to be mesmerized, but I swear to you they stared at the 70-year-old bluesman like it was a talent they were laying their eyes on for the first time.
The dynamics of Guy’s set were particularly impressive. The transition to a whisper brought the Beacon to pin drop quiet. It was so blatantly obvious that legends were in the house, and the level of respect pouring from the audience oozed over the environment.
The four-note intro to “Hoochie Coochie Man” came off the piano slow and heavy. Guy’s band was off the charts – so fucking tight – all hanging back riding the groove.
“Gypsy woman told my mama,” he sang slow and drawn out, “since I was born…”
A voice screamed out from the crowd. Guy paused. “Now, I ain’t gonna let ya fuck it up,” he said before starting again. “Gypsy woman told my mama, since I was born,” he sang again, and this time the band exploded like the barrel end of a gun.
“Skin Deep,” the title track off Buddy Guy’s recent LP, followed before the Louisiana born mojo man disappeared behind the curtain, only to reemerge, guitar in hand, in the audience. New York was eating out of the palm of his hand.
The only thing that kind of hurt Guy’s set was the addition of nine-year-old guitar prodigy Quinn Sullivan. For a child his chops were quite impressive, but his slight overstepping of the spotlight actually broke the hypnotic momentum of the set. Sullivan wasn’t a detraction, but for me what was transpiring before his guest spot was absolute genius. If it continued for the remaining ten minutes it would have been arguably the finest 60 minutes of music I have seen since the MSG Cream shows of 2005.
With his world famous B.B. King Blues Band decked out in sparkling tuxedos and laying down a groove that signified it was time to dash from the bar back to your seat, B.B. King walked out to a thunderous applause. “I’m 83-years-old,” he said with his black Gibson slung over his shoulder. “People ask me when I’m going to stop playing shows.” Groans emanated from crowed and King answered, “You better believe to the day I die!”
King performed “Key to the Highway,” “When Loves Comes to Town” and “The Thrill Is Gone.” Though his playing was a treat when he placed pick to strings, the majority of the set consisted of Mississippi fables.
“They say people from Mississippi like to talk a lot,” said King, “Well, I’m no exception.” He touched on his disgust for how rappers speak about women, stating “I have never said a bad thing about a woman in my life. They kiss me on the cheek now and say, ‘B. you are so cute!’ Man, where were you 50 years ago?”
His eyes glared out over the audience in a manner of hopelessness before a big chuckling laugh echoed from his massive frame. “And what about that Michael Phelps,” King mused. “If that boy wants to smoke, he should just be allowed to smoke.” The audience erupted.
Remaining seated, King forged ahead through renditions of “You Are My Sunshine” and “Rock My Plimsoul.” King also expressed discontent about being snubbed during a Bo Diddley tribute at the Grammy’s in February, before “Everyday I Have the Blues” and “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” made appearances, followed by Buddy Guy and Quinn Sullivan joining him onstage.
With Sullivan showing off his chops King commented, “I don’t know where you got it from but boy you can play” as they jammed on “Who’s Gonna’ Fill These Shoes.” Again, Sullivan’s presence took away from a potential moment with Guy and King forced to the background.
To end the show B.B. King took a piece of paper of out his pocket and showed it to the crowd. It read, “11:00 PM.”
“I would stay with you, New York, all night,” King said, “but this piece of paper says my time is done.”
Jeff… give it a rest.
I gave you the last word on the other post where you were consistently debating me on the subject and you used it oh so wisely ( http://geekwhisperin.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/musing-on-comments-a-slight-policy-change/ )… and now you are starting up again here almost a month later. Seriously?
I can see that you feel some need to be “right” but there is no external source that you can site that will change the fact that I enjoyed the show. I feel bad for you that you were so disturbed by the performance that you can’t let it go, but please cut it out. If you happened to find a post by Ronnie Wood where he said that he hated the show as much as you did it still wouldn’t take away from my enjoyment. At some point you have to recognize that enjoyment of musical performances is subjective.
Anyone who reads the comments can plainly see your point of view. It’s crystal clear.
Please, bury it.
@ Pan kai-wen – It’s funny that you say he looked a lot like Derek up there because I had a similar thought during the performance.
@ Plynth222 – I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that very question over the last year and I think that the narrow definitions of “Who can play the blues” and “What kinds of blues there are” really just need to stop. BB King and Buddy Guy came from poor backgrounds, they had bad times… I get it. However, for decades now, these guys have been rich and I don’t know about you, but they seem pretty happy to me. Buddy seems to have gone through a personal style transformation but that’s his choice. If you look at a guy like Derek Trucks. He didn’t come from poverty and he started playing young and that man can play the blues just as Quinn Sullivan can.
I think that Buddy Guy and BB King have earned the right to welcome a 9 year-old white boy into their ranks.
Also, what you call “trite cliches” are really no different than what any of these performers have been doing for decades. I think it is very honorable that these accomplished men are willing to share their stage with young and upcoming talent.