Tin-eared critics have frequently damned him as a yuppie blues wannabe whose slickly soulful offerings bear scant resemblance to the real down-home item. In reality, Robert Cray is one of a precious few younger blues artists with the talent and vision to successfully usher the idiom into the 21st century without resorting either to slavish imitation or simply playing rock while passing it off as blues.
Just as importantly, his immensely popular records helped immeasurably to jump-start the contemporary blues boom that still holds sway to this day. Blessed with a soulful voice that sometimes recalls '60s-great O.V. Wright and a concise lead guitar approach that never wastes notes, Cray's rise to international fame is well deserved.
His Summer tour schedule is below:
Fri 06/26/09 Fort Smith, AR Harry Kelly Park
Sun 06/28/09 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater
Mon 06/29/09 Jackson, WY Center For The Arts
Tue 06/30/09 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen
Thu 07/02/09 Minneapolis, MN The Cabooze
Fri 07/03/09 Bayfield, WI Big Top Chautauqua
Thu 07/09/09 Wichita, KS Sedgwick County Zoo
Fri 07/10/09 Austin, TX Antone's
Sat 07/11/09 Houston, TX House Of Blues
Sun 07/12/09 Helotes, TX Floores Country Store
Thu 07/16/09 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
Fri 07/17/09 Brooklyn, NY Prospect Park Bandshell
Sat 07/18/09 Buffalo, NY Erie Basin Marina
Sun 07/19/09 Tarrytown, NY The Tarrytown Music Hall
Tue 07/21/09 Brownfield, ME Stone Mountain Arts Center
Thu 07/23/09 Cary, NC Koka Booth Amphitheatre At Regency Park
Fri 07/24/09 Camden, NJ Wiggins Park
Sat 07/25/09 Newport, RI Newport Yachting Center
Sun 07/26/09 Pittsburgh, PA Hartwood Acres
Fri 07/31/09 Lehi, UT Thanksgiving Point
Sat 08/15/09 Albany, NY Hart Theatre @ The Egg
Sun 08/16/09 Bristol, VA Paramount Theater
Wed 08/19/09 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sat 08/22/09 Thief River Falls, MN Seven Clans Casino
Fri 09/04/09 Naperville, IL Downtown
Sat 09/19/09 Stateline, NV Harrah's Lake Tahoe
Sun 09/20/09 Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery
Fri 10/16/09 Virginia Beach, VA Sandler Center For The Perf. Arts
Passes are still available for many venues on Cray's tour. If you're not yet a member of BackstagePassDirect, it's never too late. Sign up today.
