To label Gary Clark Jr. the next Jimi Hendrix or the latest savior to singlehandedly save the blues sells Clark short. The Austin native was playing fabled live venue Antone’s by the time he was in his mid-teens, having taken up the guitar after discovering Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan’s older brother Jimmie, a living institution known in Austin but known to the world as the guitarist for the Fabulous Thunderbirds, became a mentor, and Clark’s name became ubiquitous on the marquees of his hometown.
His signature dirty overdriven sound and bridging of primordial blues-rock influences with music he grew up on—Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Nirvana, Bob Dylan, Outkast, Tupac, Biggie—practically created its own niche in contemporary popular music. His 2012 debut Blak and Blu demonstrated his artistic diversity. Blessed with a smooth singing voice, he showed he was equally adept at delivering a sweet falsetto or shouting through a juke joint romp.
International celebrity and career demands caused Clark to make a wise decision and bring it all back home for The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. Recorded at Austin’s Arlyn Studios and released in September, it quickly became Billboard’s No. 1 blues album. It opens with gospel-flavored “The Healing,” burns with sky-crying blues on “Grinder” and evokes Sam Cooke with an acoustic and harmonica on “Church.” It’s a rich chapter in a roots-music story that should have many more pages ahead. –Matt Kelemen
Brooklyn Bowl at The Linq, 9 p.m. March 12, starting at $30 plus fee, 18+. 702.862.2695
