Great Performances

Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago

Credited throughout his career with creating super sounds in super groups, Eric Clapton offers his ultimate collaboration in Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago. A follow-up to his groundbreaking, all-star Crossroads Guitar Festival 2004 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the event drew nearly 28,000 fans to Chicago's Toyota Park July 28. On tap for the historic afternoon: Jeff Beck, Doyle Bramhall II, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B. B. King, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Sonny Landreth, Albert Lee, Los Lobos, John Mayer, John McLaughlin, Willie Nelson, Robert Randolph, Robbie Robertson, Hubert Sumlin, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Jimmie Vaughan, Johnny Winter, Steve Winwood, and host Bill Murray. Among the many highlights: Jeff Beck's blistering guitar work that includes a reinvention of the Beatles' "A Day in the Life"; Clapton's former Blind Faith and Traffic band mate Steve Winwood's soul-dipped vocals on "Presence of the Lord" and "Can't Find My Way Home"; 81-year-old B.B. King's stirring tribute to Clapton, before turning to an electrifying "The Thrill Is Gone," and Clapton going toe-to-toe with protege Derek Trucks for a towering "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad."