Blues Music Award-Winner in Friday Harbor March 18

Walter Trout, blues guitarist – Contributed photo

Blues guitarist Walter Trout’s Alive in Amsterdam tour (which stops at San Juan Community Theatre on Saturday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m.) celebrates a successful comeback for the veteran musician.  Following a bleak diagnosis of life-threatening liver failure and hepatitis C in 2013, his rebirth began with a successful transplant in May 2014.

And in 2016, his acclaimed studio album, Battle Scars, which channeled his near-death experience into raw autobiographical songs, won “Rock Blues Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year” for the album single Gonna Live Again at the Blues Music Awards in Memphis. 

A native of New Jersey, Trout arrived in Los Angeles in 1974 and quickly earned his reputation as an A-list sideman, backing John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Percy Mayfield and more.  In 1981, he joined the remaining original members of the legendary Canned Heart.  Soon British blues giant John Mayall invited Trout to become the latest in the Bluesbreakers’ lineage of guitar greats (including Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor).  Trout later formed his own solo band and became a chart-topping star in Europe. His first stateside release, 1998’s critically heralded Walter Trout, made him a fixture of the US blues-rock scene.

Trout’s most recent album, ALIVE in Amsterdam, was recorded in Amsterdam’s opulent Royal Theatre Carré and showcases a full-throttle live performance of the blues-rock legend.

The Business Partner for the concert is Islanders Bank. All reserved tickets are $27;  $5 student RUSH is available at the door. The SJCT box office (378-3210) is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased on-line at www.sjctheatre.org.

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