Walter Trout continues his active worldwide touring schedule with a two-month run across the U.S. that will begin on August 6th in Mammoth Lakes, CA. The visionary roots singer, songwriter and guitarist has been out promoting his 20th album COMMON GROUND, with appearances throughout Europe and the U.S. over the past year.
Trout’s compelling music resides in a territory that unites the worlds of blues, rock and pure sonic adventurism, where inspiration and technique meet to create a unique soulful language. He spends much of his life bridging the U.S. and Europe, where he is so well-known and respected that the U.K.’s BBC Radio One places the Stratocaster master at number six on their list of the Top 20 guitarists of all time. Legendary BBC disc jockey Bob Harris, in his book “The Whispering Years,” calls Trout: “The World’s greatest rock guitarist.” Recently, Trout’s COMMON GROUND was honored with both a nomination for BMA Blues / Rock Album of the Year by the Blues Foundation, and inclusion in Classic Rock Magazine’s 2010 Top 10 list.
The title of Trout’s latest COMMON GROUND is also a prayer. He sings “If there’s a place where truth can still be found, Lord lead us to the common ground. The singer shared, “I am blown away by the polarization and cruelty in the world today. It goes beyond my understanding. I wrote the lyrics to that song as an attempt to come to terms with that, and as a wish that somehow – regardless of our faiths, nationalities and politics – we can find a place where truth and compassion can take us beyond our differences.”
Trout has been on this journey since 1965 when his brother brought the debut from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in to the family’s New Jersey home. He played in local band, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1973 where he supported legends that include John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Finis Tasby, Pee Wee Crayton, Lowell Fulson, Percy Mayfield and Joe Tex, assimilating a wide variety of the blues. In 1981, Trout joined the remaining members of the formative 60’s blues-rock group Canned Heat. After, he entered the true turning point in his career; beginning a five year tenure in 1984 with British blues giant John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Trout began his solo career in 1989 and from his first release LIFE IN THE JUNGLE, has had a prolific and widely embraced career in Europe. His U.S. solo debut came in 1998, when WALTER TROUT was issued which immediately established him as a staple in the American blues scene as well. Trout offers, “In a sense, I’ve almost created my own genre. I’ve assimilated so many styles and so many influences from the great adventure of American music. I love Jeff Beck just as much as I love B.B. King. I believe in telling stories and honestly searching for the truth. And I have no interest in stifling my creativity. My quest in all this is that I’d really love to be able to do it all.”
Trout’s itinerary includes appearances in:
8/20 Stanhope, NJ Stanhope House
8/21 New York, NY Hudson River Blues Festival
8/24 Annapolis, MD Ram’s Head with Ana Popovic & Anthony Gomes
8/25 Sellersville, PA Sellersville, PA
8/26 Collinsville, CT Bridge Street Live
8/27 Kingston, Ontario Limestone Blues Festival
8/28 Marshfield, MA North River Blues Festival
8/31 Tuscarawas, OH Canal House with Sonny Moorman as support
9/01 Auburn Hills, MI Callahan’s
9/02 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
9/03 Minneapolis, MN Famous Dave’s
9/04 Des Moines, IA All Play
9/05 Burlington, IA Big Muddy’s
9/06 Lincoln, NE Zoo Bar
9/08 St Louis, MO BB Jazz Blues & Soups
9/09 Louisiana, MO Club, MS
9/10 Kansas City, MO Knucklehead Saloon
9/11 Wichita, KS The Brickyard
9/24 Edmonton, Alberta The Mirage
10/06 Lake Worth, FL Bamboo Room
10/07 Lake Worth, FL Bamboo Room
10/08 Daytona, FL Daytona Blues Festival