The B.B. King Blues Experience, a ten-piece band fronted by Claudette King, the daughter of the blues great, is set to tour North America and Europe in 2025 in honor of the late guitarist's 100th birthday.
Entitled The Thrill Lives On tour, the band also features Grammy-winning vocalist and harmonica player Grady Champion, and Tony “T.C.” Coleman, King’s drummer for over three decades.
Chicago guitarist Wilbert Crosby, who has toured and recorded with Pops Staples, Mavis Staples, and Aretha Franklin, has the honor of handling King's parts. He has played the Grammy awards twice, including alongside Bonnie Raitt, Phil Upchurch, WahWah Watson, Isaac Hayes, and Maria Muldaur in 1995.
Their show promises to celebrate the legacy of B.B. King and Mississippi Delta blues “with a flavor of funk” added to the mix.
“To have the opportunity to continue sharing my father's music with audiences around the world is a blessing and a privilege,” says Claudette King. “I'm thrilled to be bringing the B.B. King Blues Experience to the world and allowing new audiences to experience the thrill of this music live.
“I dare the audience to stay seated during our songs as they will make you want to get up and dance,” she adds.
No dates have yet been announced, with Pyramid Entertainment Group “open to offers” as it looks to spread King’s music far and wide. There’s also a hope that, by fusing these classic songs with a little funk, the band can win over a new generation of fans.
“We wanted to take King’s timeless classics and add some funk to it in order to reach a younger and different audience,” Champion expands. “The show is fun, entertaining, and suitable for all ages.”
Talking to Guitar World late last year, another blues legend, Buddy Guy, waxed lyrical about King's unrivaled talents when it came to playing the blues.
“I had to find my own unique voice on the electric guitar,“ he says. “Because I had heard guys like B.B. King and T-Bone Walker. I said, ‘I’ll never be that good. I’ve got to do something different from them or I’m done for.’
“B.B. King had a left hand that could do things that were not of this Earth. I knew I could never do any of that.”
But, in the wise words of B.B. King himself, he didn’t want players to stick too closely to his sonic template. He wanted to hear the individuality of every blues player.
“I believe your sound comes from within you,” he once said. “You can manufacture a sound by having a wah-wah pedal or something, but the actual sound comes from you. It’s your touch and your soul that makes it sound the way it does.
“You don’t want to play like B.B. King or somebody else. You want to be you. Try to borrow a little bit from each guy. And, like that, you become you.”
King passed away aged 89 in 2015, and is still hailed as one of the greatest blues players in the world.
