Walter Trout

All things considered, we’re pretty god damn lucky to have Walter Trout. Not only is he a long-time blues legend, having played for bands like Canned Heat and John Mayall before pursuing a solo career; not only is he a multiple-award-winner who tied for sixth place on Radio One’s Top 20 Guitarists with the one and only Brian May; and not only is he as old-school cool, funny, and talented as you’d expect a veteran such as him to be; but also it’s a miracle he’s even alive, let alone performing. In 2014, Trout received a transplant after having been diagnosed with life-threatening liver failure. In 2015, he released his latest studio album Battle Scars, which might just be his greatest work yet. And now he’s on a world tour, which makes me feel like I have, in comparison, absolutely no excuse for being so lazy. As can be heard from his performance Live In Amsterdam, Trout’s experiences have injected such raw emotion into his songs that he sounds, at 65 and after having been at death’s door, better than ever. As his website puts it: “Walter Trout has never sounded so alive.”

Don’t miss out when he comes to our very own Exeter Phoenix this October.