Musician Buddy Guy, who turned 90 years old two months ago, was celebrated on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, with a sold-out tribute concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The event, titled "Buddy's Got the Blues," featured a lineup of guest performers and a house band led by Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan.
Guy performed intermittently throughout the program, which lasted more than three hours. He opened the set with an acoustic version of John Lee Hooker’s "I’m in the Mood" before playing electric guitar for songs such as Slim Harpo’s "I’m a King Bee."
The concert included performances by John Mayer, Eric Gales, Joe Bonamassa, Susan Tedeschi, and Derek Trucks. Bobby Rush, a contemporary of Guy who is nearly 93, also joined him on stage. The evening concluded with a group performance of "Got My Mojo Workin'" and the presentation of birthday cakes to Guy. During the week of the event, Guy’s management team announced he will release a new album next year, produced by Jordan and featuring Ivan Neville and Willie Weeks.
Fans of the blues genre and followers of Guy will notice the impact of this event through the announcement of new material scheduled for 2027. This upcoming album, produced by Steve Jordan, indicates that Guy will continue to record into his 90s. The presence of younger headliners at this tribute suggests a continued effort by the music industry to maintain the visibility of blues traditions through cross-generational collaborations.
For the music industry and venue operators, the successful sale of a venue as large as Radio City Music Hall for a nonagenarian artist demonstrates the sustained commercial viability of legacy acts. The next steps for Guy involve the production and release of his new studio album. While a specific release date for the 2027 project was not reported, the involvement of the house band from the Radio City concert confirms that recording or planning is underway with session musicians like Willie Weeks and Ivan Neville.