Exclusive for Berklee: Half-Price Tickets for Eric Johnson Concert on 9/23
Submitted by: Marissa Vaysman
Exclusive to Berklee students & faculty:
Q&A w/ Eric Johnson, Will Lee & Anton Fig
This Sunday Sept 23rd – The Wilbur
5:30 – 6:15 PM
with purchase of a Berklee ½ price ticket to the show.
Show starts at 8 PM.
Students & faculty can purchase their special offer tickets online (enter code “BERKLEE”) or at the box office (Show your Berklee ID at the Wilbur Box office at 246 Tremont St.)
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Eric Johnson, who is touring with Will Lee and Anton Fig of the Letterman Late Night Band & Fab Faux, is set to perform at The Wilbur Theatre on Sunday September 23rd at 8:00 pm.
Eric Johnson’s stature as one of the premier guitar players in contemporary music is his artistic trump card, backed by a Grammy Award and five nominations, a platinum album, Top 10 hits like “Cliffs Of Dover,” praise from critics and the esteem of his peers. He is a gifted songwriter, dynamic live performer, singer, pianist, song interpreter, and creator of a rich and diverse musical legacy.
His distinctive musical gifts are vividly evident on Johnson’s aptly titled new album, Up Close, released on his own Vortexan Music label via EMI Distribution. The new 15-track disc finds the noted master craftsman cutting loose, roaming through variations on the rock, blues, pop, country and jazz all found at the core of his sound, pushing the dynamic range of his artistry, and mixing it up with such friends and peers as guitarists Jimmie Vaughan and Sonny Landreth and guest singers Steve Miller, Jonny Lang and Malford Milligan.
His many achievements include being enshrined in Guitar Player’s Gallery of Greats and named one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century by Musician Magazine alongside numerous other awards. He also enjoys the admiration of many of his fellow players and has performed and/or recorded with such notables as Chet Atkins, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and others. He was also tapped by Eric Clapton to appear at the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival and played his second stint of the Experience Hendrix tour in fall 2010.
Johnson’s success over the last 20 years was presaged by a grassroots rise in which he made his bones and burgeoning reputation as a formidable musical talent and player since he first became a local sensation in the Austin clubs as a teen with the psychedelic rock band Mariani. Trained on classical piano as a youth, he switched to the guitar after the stateside arrival of the Beatles in 1964. As a young player he delved deeply into blues, jazz, country and other styles that inform his music. By the mid-1970s, Johnson began touring and sparking a buzz about his astonishing talents in the jazz-rock outfit Electromagnets, whose recordings and a live TV performance from that era were released in the 1990s to critical acclaim. He cut his teeth in the studio on sessions for Cat Stevens, Christopher Cross and Carole King, and by 1984 his stature in Texas and beyond was so strong that the unsigned artist was tapped to make his first appearance on the prestigious PBS concert show “Austin City Limits.” At the urging of such stars as Cross and Prince, Johnson was signed to a major label deal with Reprise Records and emerged onto the international recording scene where he continues to thrive.
Johnson’s eminence as a musical artist goes well beyond just his stunning guitar mastery. His keen com¬positional sense and lyrical playing create instrumentals that speak to listeners and convey thoughts, emotions and imagery, and Up Close spotlights his singing and sure way with words.