Buddy Guy’s Radio City 90th Birthday Concert Packs Eric Clapton, John Mayer and Gary Clark Jr. Into a Sold-Out Blues Salute Livestreamed Worldwide

NEW YORK, NY — Buddy Guy’s 90th birthday is set to become a major blues event, with a sold-out celebration bringing some of the genre’s biggest names to Radio City Music Hall on Oct. 1. The concert, titled “Buddy’s Got the Blues: A 90th Birthday Concert Celebration,” will honor one of electric blues’ most influential guitarists with a lineup that spans generations.

Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks are among the artists scheduled for the night, and Guy himself will also perform. What began as a single New York City show has already expanded into a worldwide viewing event because tickets are gone and the concert will be livestreamed through Nugs.

A lineup that stretches across blues, rock and roots music

The bill reads like a map of Guy’s reach across American music. Joe Bonamassa, Billy F. Gibbons, Aloe Blacc, Shemekia Copeland, Samantha Fish, Eric Gales, Robert Randolph, Bobby Rush, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jimmie Vaughan and Ally Venable are all set to appear, giving the evening a broad mix of blues, rock and roots voices.

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has also been added to the concert, widening the generational spread even further. Steve Jordan will serve as music director, helping shape a show that is meant to feel less like a routine tribute and more like a one-night summit for players who have all been touched, directly or indirectly, by Guy’s style.

Radio City and the livestream turn one night into a global event

Radio City Music Hall gives the birthday salute a scale that fits the occasion. The venue’s size and reputation transform the concert from a club-style tribute into something closer to a landmark music event, especially with a sold-out audience already locked in.

For everyone who could not get a ticket, the livestream changes the reach of the show dramatically. Filmmaker Martyn Atkins will direct the concert film for the broadcast, which means the performance will be captured in a format built for both live viewing and later replay. The show will stream in HD and 4K through Nugs, with access available on mobile, desktop and supported television platforms.

How Buddy Guy built the influence that fills a bill like this

Guy’s guest list makes more sense when viewed against the arc of his career. Born in Lettsworth, Louisiana, in 1936, he built his first two-string guitar at age 7 before eventually moving to Chicago in 1957. There he became part of the Chess Records world, one of the most important hubs in American blues history.

His aggressive, expressive guitar work helped define Chicago’s West Side blues sound. More than that, his use of distortion, dynamics, stage showmanship and unpredictability helped change what audiences expected from an electric guitarist. The players gathering at Radio City are there to celebrate not just a birthday, but a sound that helped shape modern blues and rock.

Awards, albums and a career that never stopped moving

Guy’s list of honors is long enough to underline just how central he has been to American music. He is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a nine-time Grammy winner and a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Grammy. His other honors include 38 Blues Music Awards, the Billboard Century Award, the Presidential National Medal of Arts and a Kennedy Center Honor.

Even with that résumé, he has not settled into legacy mode. In 2025, he released Ain’t Done With the Blues, produced by longtime collaborator Tom Hambridge and featuring The Blind Boys of Alabama, Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, Kingfish and Bonamassa. That followed 2022’s The Blues Don’t Lie, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Blues Albums chart.

Farewell touring, but not a farewell to music

Guy has announced a “Damn Right Farewell Tour,” signaling that he is stepping back from the punishing touring pace that defined much of his career. Even so, the Radio City celebration makes clear that he is not walking away from music itself.

At 90, he is still recording, still performing and still sharing stages with musicians who grew up studying his phrasing and attack. A portion of livestream proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society, Guy’s charity partner of choice, adding a philanthropic note to a night built around respect, history and live performance.

Chicago's music scene, one story at a time — Chicago Music Guide.