Music

Johnny Winter coming to Exeter Phoenix for Vibraphonic (news)

18th December 2009

American blues guitarist and singer Johnny Winter is set to visit Exeter next year as part of the city's Vibraphonic Festival.

Ranked 74th in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time poll, Johnny’s style is ever shifting between simple country blues in the vein of Robert Johnson to all-out electric slide guitar blues-rock.

His is a gutsy school of blues playing, marked by thick tones, aggressive attack and tons of technique, all wrapped up in a flamboyant, swaggering style.

The 65-year-old veteran is without doubt one of the most respected guitar players in rock, a guitar player’s guitarist.

Born and raised in Texas, Johnny began playing clarinet at the age of five, switching to ukulele and then guitar a few years later.

He and his younger brother, Edgar, started performing as a duo in the Everly Brothers vein and appeared on local television shows after winning a talent contest.

After being in several bands together, the brothers went their separate ways in the late 1960s, with Johnny appearing at the Woodstock Festival, signing to Columbia Records, and delivering a steady stream of hard-hitting blues-rock albums.

His five-decade career has been full and varied, earning him much acclaim.

Johnny fulfilled a personal dream by working with legendary blues guitarist Muddy Waters.

The two men collaborated on a series of classic albums on the Blue Sky label, with Johnny producing and playing on Muddy’s Grammy Award-winning comeback albums.

Despite experiencing several health crises in recent years, rendering him incapable of performing without being seated, Winter still tours regularly.

Catch him at the Exeter Phoenix on March 19, 2010. Call 01392 667 080 for booking details.

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