Stevie Ray Visited at the Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center -- July 16.
Friday, July 16, 8 p.m.
Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center, 7077 Elmore Avenue, Davenport IA
One of the most iconic and acclaimed blues guitarists in history will be celebrated in a special touring event on July 16 when Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center hosts the touring sensation Stevie Ray Visited, with Los Angeles-based guitarist Roby Duron and his ensemble delivering the best of Stevie Ray Vaughan's discography while also touching on significant moments from the late legend's life.
A singer/songwriter and record producer, Vaughan was best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock band Double Trouble, with his other associated acts including singer David Bowie and multi-instrumentalist Chente Vasquez. Although his mainstream career only spanned seven years, he is considered to be one of the most iconic and influential musicians in the history of blues music, as well as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Born in 1954 and raised in Dallas, Texas, Vaughan began playing guitar at age seven, and after dropping out of high school and moving to Austin, he began to gain a following after playing gigs on the local club circuit. Vaughan formed the band Double Trouble in 1978 and established it as part of the Austin music scene, which soon became one of the most popular acts in Texas.
In 1982, Vaughan performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival where David Bowie saw him play. Bowie contacted the musician for a studio gig, resulting in Vaughan playing his blues guitar on the album 1983 Let's Dance before being discovered by John Hammond, who interested major label Epic Records in signing the artist to a record deal. Within months, Vaughan achieved mainstream success with Double Trouble for the critically acclaimed debut album Texas Flood, and after a series of successful network television appearances and extensive concert tours, Vaughan became the leading figure in the blues revival of the 1980s. Playing his guitar behind his back or plucking the strings with his teeth like Jimi Hendrix, he earned unprecedented stardom in Europe, which later resulted in breakthroughs for guitar players including Robert Cray, Jeff Healey, Robben Ford, and Walter Trout.
Vaughan's fourth and final studio album In Step reached number 33 in the United States in 1989 and included his only number-one hit "Crossfire." The guitarist subsequently became one of the world's most highly demanded blues performers, and he headlined Madison Square Garden in 1989 and the Beale Street Music Festival in 1990. On August 27 of that year, however, Vaughan and four others were killed in a helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin, after performing with Double Trouble at Alpine Valley Music Theatre. But Vaughan's music continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases, and the late artist has sold more than 15 million albums in the United States alone. In 2003, David Fricke of Rolling Stone ranked Vaughan the seventh greatest guitarist of all time, and in 2015, Vaughan was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Double Trouble bandmates Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, and Reese Wynans.
Stevie Ray Visited takes the stage at Davenport's Rhythm City Casino Resort Event Center at 8 p.m. on July 16, admission is $30 for early entry and $20 for general admission, and more information is available by calling (563)328-8000 and visiting RhythmCityCasino.com.
