Buddy Guy Celebrates 90 at Radio City With Mayer, Trucks, Bonamassa and a Blues All-Star Cast
The October 1 concert moved from an intimate opening trio to a curfew-breaking ensemble finale built around Guy's songs and influence.
Oct 3, 2026
Credit: Charles Sykes / Invision / AP (via source)
Buddy Guy's 90th-birthday celebration took over Radio City Music Hall on October 1 with a lineup spanning several generations of blues guitar. Guy opened in a stripped-back setting with Isaiah Sharkey and Derek Trucks before the evening expanded to include John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Gales, Billy Gibbons and other guests.
The show was structured as more than a procession of cameos: the opening trio left space around Guy's phrasing, and the later ensemble numbers turned his catalog into a shared vocabulary for the invited players. Eric Clapton had been announced but was unable to appear because of illness. The concert ran beyond curfew and closed with the full company onstage.
Credit: nugs
Why it matters
Few living blues guitarists have influenced as many generations as Buddy Guy, and this concert documents that lineage through the players who gathered to celebrate him.
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