Experience Hendrix
with Kenny Wayne, Shepherd, Zakk Wylde, Ayron Jones, Kingfish
+ many more!
The Grove – Anaheim, CA
Tuesday, October 1st, 2024
Review/Pics: Manuel Gay
Jimi Hendrix. No other musician has shaped the worlds of rock’n’roll, hard rock, blues and guitar playing as we know them today, like he did. Absolute legend, best guitar player ever, most influential musician, so many labels that coin perfectly who he was and still remains in popular culture. From revisiting the Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock, lighting his guitar on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival, shredding his guitar with his teeth on national television to his classic repertoire, Hendrix has left an indelible mark in history.
Although over fifty years have passed since the tragic death of the iconic rocker, his family has made sure to keep his memory and legacy alive by putting together Experience Hendrix, a recurring all-star musicians tour that has been pleasing the crowds since 2010. This year marked the return of the tour since the pandemic put a cease to the event. On October 1st, the show hit the City National Grove of Anaheim and I was lucky enough to be in attendance.
The show promptly started at 8pm with one of the Jimi Hendrix Experience classics “Foxy Lady” with Jimi Hendrix’s cousin Henri Brown on vocal duties, Mato Nanji (of Indigenous) on guitar and Chuck Campbell (of The Slide Brothers) on the slide guitar. This core of musicians came and left throughout the show depending on the song. Kevin McCormick and Rock Hall Of Fame inductee Chris Layton (of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble) took care of the bass and drums respectively for the entire show. Seattle rocker Ayron Jones got on stage next for “Stone Free” and “The Wind Cries Mary”, Ayron was one of the musicians I was excited to see the most that night as I had still never seen him live. I was not disappointed.
Blues legend Taj Mahal got on stage next alongside guitar prodigy and Grammy Award winner Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Taj and Kingfish paid homage to the bluesy aspect of Hendrix’s legacy by covering the classics “Killing Floor” and “Catfish Blues”. Kingfish often covers “Hey Joe” during his own shows and this night wasn’t an exception as he blessed the audience with his amazing guitar skills.
Chuck Campbell came back along with bandmate Calvin Cooke for another blues classic “The Sky Is Crying”. We were up for quite the transition when metalhead Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) took over the stage for a blazing appearance that was as brutal as you could possibly imagine. One of the highlights of the evening was Zakk running down the stage to play an extended solo on “Little Wing” in the middle of the audience. It definitely shook up the place coming out of an acoustic blues set, but it was Jimi Hendrix in a nutshell. Influenced by blues, shaping rock’n’roll and setting a path for heavy metal to follow.
Texan guitarist Eric Johnson was welcomed by the crowd next for a four songs set, initially leaving the singing to Dylan Triplett and finally singing himself on “Spanish Castle”. The most exciting combo that evening for me came next with Ayron Jones and Kingfish sharing the stage for a killer rendition of “Red House” which had all the blues aficionados in house shouting and clapping. And why let the excitement go back down, when instead you could have Zakk Wylde rushing back on stage for an unbelievable version of “All Along The Watchtower”.
Ayron Jones made another appearance before making space for the one and only Kenny Wayne Shepherd, (the living reincarnation of Stevie Ray Vaughan). With him, came Noah Hunt who’s been singing with him for about three decades now. The whole crowd got up and welcomed them with joyful cheers. After a couple of songs, Kenny told us that they had some extra time left so he treated us with an extended medley of “Voodoo Chile” / “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”.
If Experience Hendrix stops by a town near you, DO NOT miss out on this orgy of guitar licks and flamin’ hot solos. Jimi Hendrix’s music will live on forever as amazing musicians will keep carrying his spirit out.
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