The second edition of the Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival took place in Bridgeview, Illinois on July the 28 th. The 11-hour event didn’t disappoint the 28.000 people present to that concert which sold out in a matter of minutes. Hosted by the Chicago-born Bill Murray (which through the day mimed different looks of Clapton, from the Rainbow Concert to Cream with an afro aircut and a psychedelic SG guitar), some of the best guitarists alive took turns on the rotative stage under a blinding sun.

After a  surprise jam between Eric and Murray on Van Morisson’s Gloria, guitar greats like Sonny Landreth, , John McLaughlin, Alison Kraus, Doyle Bramhall II, or Derek Trucks (which featured numbers with his wife Susan Tedeschi on Derek and the Dominos’ “Anyday” or blues sorcerer Johnny Winter on a superb rendition of “Highway 61”) all took the stage along the likes of Robert Randolph and the family band, John Mayer, Willie Neslon or Robert Cray, which, after having jammed with people like Jimmie Vaughan or Hubert Sumlin, served as a deluxe backing band for the great BB King, who after having said all the good he thinks of Eric delighted the audience with some of his classics, “The thrill his gone” in first place.

A few bands and a breath-taking set by Jeff Beck later (who for example gave a mind-blowing rendition of the Beatle’s A day in the life), it was time for Eric and his band to take the stage to play a handful of Derek’s numbers such as “Tell the truth”, “Key to the Highway” or “Why does love got to be so sad” and its beautiful 2-guitar outro. Eric also dedicated a superb “Isn’t it a pity” to his friend George Harrison, who, Eric said, was kind of present that night too.
Then The Band’s Robbie Robertson took the stage to play Bo Diddley’s “Who do you love”, and “Further on up the road”, as a memory of the “Last Waltz” concert which Clapton participated in years ago.
It was then time for the main event of the day to come : 35+ years after the last concert of Blind Faith, Steve Winwood joined Eric on stage to play numbers of the superband such as “Presence of the lord” or “Had to cry today”, before demonstrating his guitar abilities by delivering a blistering solo on “Dear Mr Fantasy”. The concert naturally closed with “Crossroads”.
Who else than the man from the country, Buddy Guy to close the day ? The blues great hosted a jam with most of the previous players on some of his classics, and the event took an end with the welcomed “Sweet Home Chicago”.
Eric stated that he certainly will organize one more Crossroads Festival in the future, but as for now, let’s just wait for the official DVD of that 2nd event (said by sources to be released on Nov. the 6th), hoping that it again will be a 2-DVD set.
Watch lengthy excerpts from the Festival footage here.