Buddy Guy’s 90th Concert at Radio City Music Hall Features Clapton, Mayer, Gibbons, and More

Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Billy Gibbons and a deep roster of blues royalty will join Guy on stage October 1 in New York City.

Buddy Guy will mark his 90th birthday with a landmark concert celebration at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on October 1. Titled Buddy’s Got the Blues: A 90th Birthday Concert Celebration, the event will feature Guy himself alongside an expansive all-star lineup of guitarists, vocalists and musicians who have drawn from his influence across six decades of American blues and rock.

A Night Built Around a Living Legend

Guy turns 90 on July 30, but the formal celebration is set for the fall, giving organizers time to assemble one of the more remarkable tribute lineups in recent blues history. Radio City Music Hall, with its 6,000-seat capacity and storied history of landmark concerts, is a fitting stage for an artist whose fingerprints are on virtually every major guitar player of the last half-century.

Guy addressed the occasion directly in a statement: “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.” That framing, honoring predecessors while acknowledging the next generation, reflects how Guy has long positioned himself within the blues tradition.

The Full Performer Lineup

The confirmed roster spans generations and genres, from classic rock veterans to contemporary blues artists to soul and R&B figures. Steve Jordan of the Rolling Stones will serve as Music Director for the evening. The lineup also promises special surprise guests beyond those already announced.

• Eric Clapton
• John Mayer
• Susan Tedeschi and 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
• Kim Wilson
• Special surprise guests

Tickets and Timing

General public tickets go on sale June 26. The concert itself is scheduled for October 1 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

What we know

• Buddy Guy turns 90 years old on July 30.
• The concert, titled Buddy’s Got the Blues: A 90th Birthday Concert Celebration, is scheduled for October 1 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
• Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Billy F Gibbons, Jon Batiste, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr. and numerous other artists are confirmed to perform.
• Steve Jordan of the Rolling Stones will serve as Music Director for the evening.
• General public tickets go on sale June 26.
• Guy stated the night is intended to honor those who taught him, the friends he has played with, and musicians coming up behind him.

The take

Buddy Guy occupies a singular position in the blues-to-rock lineage. Eric Clapton has cited him as a primary influence since the 1960s, and Jimi Hendrix famously called him the best guitarist alive. The fact that Clapton is crossing the Atlantic for this event carries real weight; Clapton has scaled back his touring commitments considerably in recent years, making his appearances increasingly rare and significant. John Mayer’s presence reflects a more recent generation of devotion: Mayer has collaborated with Guy on record and spoken extensively about his influence on Mayer’s own blues direction. The involvement of Steve Jordan as Music Director is also notable. Jordan is one of the most respected session and band architects in rock, and his role suggests the evening is being built with serious musical intention rather than assembled as a loose jam. The breadth of the lineup, from Texas blues veterans like Jimmie Vaughan and Kim Wilson to younger voices like Ally Venable and Isaiah Sharkey, mirrors the structure of the best tribute concerts in the genre: they work as both celebration and living history lesson. Milestone birthday concerts for blues legends have become meaningful cultural events in their own right, with similar all-star gatherings for B.B. King and Muddy Waters setting a precedent for honoring artists whose influence outpaces their mainstream recognition.

Why it matters

For classic rock and blues audiences, this concert represents something genuinely rare: a living artist of Guy’s stature being celebrated while he can still take the stage himself. The lineup reads like a who’s-who of guitar-centric American music across three generations, and the Radio City setting gives it the scale the occasion demands. Beyond the spectacle, events like this serve a documentary function, capturing the living connections between an originator and the players he shaped, at a moment when that chain of influence can still be witnessed in real time.

What’s next

General public tickets go on sale June 26. The concert takes place October 1 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Organizers have indicated additional surprise guests beyond the announced lineup will appear on the night.

Frequently asked questions

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