{"id":10398,"date":"2023-08-13T20:53:25","date_gmt":"2023-08-13T20:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/?p=10398"},"modified":"2023-08-13T21:27:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T21:27:59","slug":"sonny-landreth-the-heights-theater-houston-tx-august-12-2023-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2023\/08\/13\/sonny-landreth-the-heights-theater-houston-tx-august-12-2023-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonny Landreth – The Heights Theater – Houston, TX – August 12, 2023 – Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Jim Bille<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Heights Theater hosted one of the best slide guitar players in the business Saturday night when Sonny Landreth took the stage for a semi rare Houston appearance and gob-smacked the almost full venue with a blistering and soulful performance.<\/p>\n

Landreth opened the show with an acoustic set accompanied by Brian Brignac on cajon and Dave Ranson on ukulele bass. Using a custom Beltona Electro Resonator Guitar, Landreth led the trio through a slick slide set of five older and newer numbers that included \u201cBlues Attack\u201d, \u201cKey to The Highway\u201d, \u201cBlacktop Run\u201d, \u201cDon\u2019t Ask Me to Explain It\u201d and \u201cCreole Angel\u201d. This set really showcased Landreth\u2019s finger picking guitar work as well as his trademark slide style. Using the resonator guitar for this set made all the difference by lending a strong authenticity to the music by seeming to strip it down to the bare classical blues essentials.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>After the first set finished up Landreth promised to be right back – \u201camped up\u201d and to say that was an understatement would be accurate. Upon returning to the stage the band plugged in and turned it up to party volume much to the delight of the audience.<\/p>\n

The first number the band laid out for the crowd was the classic Son House blues standard \u201cWalkin Blues\u201d that featured Landreth\u2019s signature mind boggling slide work followed up by another blues standard, Tampa Red\u2019s \u201cIt Hurts Me Too\u201d. These two songs were to be the last cover tunes of the evening leaving the balance of the show to feature exclusively Sonny Landreth penned or co-written material.\u00a0 Landreth\u2019s musical catalogue includes many albums as well as immeasurable session work with other performers so he had a plethora of music from which to choose.<\/p>\n

The instrumental, \u201cBrave New Girl\u201d was performed with its spacey up and down melody again showcasing the guitarist\u2019s talent.\u00a0 Another instrumental that jumped out at the crowd was \u201cGroovy Goddess\u201d from Landreth\u2019s latest release Blacktop Run.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>From his 2003 release, The Road We\u2019re On, Landreth performed a dazzling version of \u201cA World Away\u201d, a soulful and smooth tune that slowed things down a bit just enough to give the crowd a breather.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack to Bayou Teche\u201d, a rocking song with heavy Cajon influences brought the audience to their feet as Landreth guided his band through an obvious crowd favorite of the night.<\/p>\n

Landreth saved probably his most recognized song for the encore. \u201cCongo Square\u201d has been covered by numerous artists but none compare to Sonny Landreth\u2019s own version which is still the best way to hear it.<\/p>\n

Early on in the show Landreth joked that the band was practicing for their upcoming appearance at Eric Clapton\u2019s Crossroads Guitar Festival in Los Angeles next month. Landreth has in fact performed at every Crossroads Festival since its inception in 2004 and will be at the next one as well. I\u2019ve had the opportunity to attend three out of the five festivals held so far and can confirm without hesitation that Sonny Landreth is one of the major highlights of the show.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Jim Bille The Heights Theater hosted one of the best slide guitar players in the business Saturday night when Sonny Landreth took the stage for a semi rare Houston appearance and gob-smacked the almost full venue with a blistering and soulful performance. Landreth opened the show with an acoustic set accompanied by Brian… <\/p>\n

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