30 Days Out, July 2024 #2: Buddy Guy
Twice a month for the last four and a half years-plus, I’ve been telling you about four of the most notable live music events coming to (or near) Asheville. This time around I’m going to do something a bit different. The AVL Fest is happening, and that in and of itself is a worthy event, featuring as it does a plethora – a panoply, a veritable cornucopia if you will – of local and regional musical talent. In other words, go. It also means that said fest inevitably sorta sucks the air out of everything else.
But there is one very special concert of note.
As it happens, Buddy Guy was scheduled to play at Harrah’s Casino out in Cherokee NC back in October of last year. As I wrote then, “This is billed as the blues hero’s final tour; don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Unfortunately, that tour was scotched on doctor’s orders. Happily, the date on his “Damn Right Farewell” has been rescheduled for July 27. I don’t often make the trip to Cherokee – I don’t gamble, and I don’t enjoy the unavoidable march through the casino and its disgusting cloud of cigarette smoke to get to the concert venue – but in this case it’s worth the effort.
As I wrote in a review some dozen years ago, “among some of the giants of the blues (including BB King, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters to name a few), the blues of Buddy Guy are among the most urban. His fleet-fingered playing and wailing, expressive vocal embody the Chicago variant of the electric blues.” So this show is unmissable.
The original date had Eric Gales billed as opener. I’m not sure if that’s still the case for this rescheduled date, but if it is, that’s some tasty icing on the cake (UPDATE: Nope, doesn’t look like it). Either way, tickets remain, and you should get yours. See ya there!
30DO will resume its customary format in August.
About the Author
Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day for several years). The more than 5000 interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he taught a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- some 40 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: 30 Great Concept Albums is available now. Read even more about him here.