Raised in Lafayette, La. renowned guitarist Sonny Landreth was inspired in his late teens by seeing three influential musicians; B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, and Clifton Chenier. This would shape the inventive nature of his slide-guitar playing, using his signature techniques to gain expansive sounds that are as much fun to see as they are to hear.
Landreth's earliest road gig was as the guitarist for Zydeco legend Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band. Before long Landreth's playing was drawing attention on its own. He's played with John Hiatt, Jimmy Buffett, Eric Clapton and many others, but hearing his own take on blending rock and blues is always the most impressive and engaging way to hear Sonny Landreth.
In 2017, Landreth released a live double album, half acoustic and half electric, called Recorded Live From Lafayette, simultaneously satisfying the long-time yearning by fans for an acoustic record and capturing the electrifying energy of his full band live shows.
Recorded in Aug. 2017, this set — his first fully acoustic set in his 10 appearances on Mountain Stage since 1995 — features his trio with Dave Ranson on ukulele bass and Brian Brignac on cajon and percussion. Together, they run through a career spanning set of songs from the acoustic, "front porch" side of the double-record, featuring new and invigorated acoustic arrangements of crowd favorites like "Blues Attack" and what he calls his "one and only hit in Czechoslovakia," "Creole Angle."
"I've always worried about tuning up in front of audiences, been worrying about it for 46 years on the road," he says while nudging the tuning pegs on his resonator guitar, "Now I'm 66 years old and on Medicare and I just don't really care anymore," he laughs.
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