Buddy Guy 90th Birthday Concert, Starring Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Jon Batiste and More, Scheduled for October

Buddy Guy, the legendary blues guitarist and a defining force in American music, is set to receive a monumental tribute this fall. The 90th birthday celebration, titled “Buddy’s Got the Blues: A 90th Birthday Concert Celebration,” will take place on October 1 at New York City’s iconic Radio City Music Hall. The event promises a staggering lineup of musical luminaries, including Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks, Jon Batiste, Aloe Blacc, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr., Shemekia Copeland, Robert Cray, Samantha Fish, Eric Gales, Billy F Gibbons, Ivan Neville, Robert Randolph, Bobby Rush, Isaiah Sharkey, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jimmie Vaughan, Ally Venable, Willie Weeks, and Kim Wilson. Additional performers and special guests are expected to be announced closer to the date.

General public tickets for the concert will go on sale Friday, June 26, at 10 AM ET. Steve Jordan, a renowned drummer and producer, will serve as the evening’s musical director. The event is being executive produced by Keith Wortman, Garry Buck, and Scooter Weintraub, with production handled by Blackbird Presents and Live Nation. In a statement, Guy expressed his excitement: “Can’t wait to celebrate 90 years of living, loving, and playing the Blues with all my friends. We’ll make it a night not just for me, but for the folks who taught us, the friends we’ve played with, and the ones coming up behind us.” The concert follows a year of high-profile recognition for the artist, who was honored at Variety’s Hitmakers event in 2024 and made a notable appearance in Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-winning film “Sinners.”

Buddy Guy’s influence on modern music is immeasurable. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a pioneer of Chicago’s West Side sound, he is widely credited as a key influence on Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Peter Green, and virtually every guitarist who emerged from the British blues-rock boom of the mid-1960s. His career has been decorated with nine Grammy Awards, including one for his most recent album, 2025’s “Ain’t Done With the Blues,” as well as a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, 38 Blues Music Awards, the Presidential National Medal of Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honor. “Guy’s legacy is not just in his own recordings but in the generations of musicians he inspired,” notes music historian Dr. Amanda Reeves. “This birthday concert is a fitting capstone to a life spent shaping the very DNA of blues and rock.”