Eric Clapton has announced seven North American shows to play throughout September. Good friend Jimmie Vaughan and his band will serve as the tour's special guests. Clapton kicks off the run on September 8th at Columbus' Schottenstein Center and wraps over two nights — September 18th and 19th — at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Clapton is also set to hit Detroit, Chicago, and Pittsburgh this time out.
Clapton will be backed on the upcoming dates by guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, keyboardists Paul Carrack and Chris Stainton, bassist Nathan East, drummers Sonny Emory and Steve Gadd, with Sharon White and Katie Kissoon on backing vocals.
Nathan East has recorded and toured with Clapton off and on since his 1986 August album. He reflected on the qualities that make his old pal such a unique artist: “Eric is just a one-of-a-kind. There’s Eric and then there’s every other musician (laughs). Everything he touches seems to turn to gold, y'know? He has a beautiful voice and I’ve never met anyone who plays with such passion. Music is such an expression of passion and all the things that have happened to you and whatever — and Lord knows he’s been through a lot in his life — but the way it flows through him musically is like something I’ve never ever seen.”