Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and seven-time Grammy Award winner Buddy Guy will perform at the WVU Creative Arts Center Wednesday, April 26. Showtime is set for 7:30 p.m. and tickets are on sale now at the Mountainlair and CAC box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com.

 

Buddy Guy’s career is a storied one. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee took his guitar to Chicago in 1957 and forever changed the direction of the instrument, playing alongside Chess Records legends Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. Guy’s incendiary style left its mark on guitarists from Jimmy Page to John Mayer.

 

“He was for me what Elvis was probably like to other people,” said Eric Clapton at Guy’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. “My course was set and he was my pilot.”

 

Guy was also a major influence on rock titans Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn. A pioneer of Chicago’s fabled West Side sound, Guy is also a living link to the city’s flourishing days of electric blues. His latest studio album, “Born to Play Guitar,” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart.

 

Buddy has received seven Grammy Awards, including the 2015 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and he holds 34 Blues Music Awards – the most ever received by any artist. He is also a Kennedy Center Honoree and a recipient of the Presidential National Medal of Arts and the Billboard Magazine Century Award for distinguished artistic achievement.

 

Despite his many accomplishments and accolades, Guy continues to look to the future of the blues through his ongoing work with his protégé Quinn Sullivan.

 

“I worry a lot about the legacy of Muddy, Wolf and all the guys who created this stuff,” Buddy says. “I want people to remember them. So as long as I’m here, I’m going to whatever I can to keep [the blues] alive.”

 

Tickets for Guy’s concert at the WVU Creative Arts Center start at $44 and are on sale now at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, Ticketmaster.com and by phone at 304-293-SHOW (7469) or 800-745-3000. WVU Student tickets are $23. WVU Students must present a valid WVU ID at the campus box offices or enter their unique offer code at ticketmaster.com. Discounted tickets are limited to one per valid WVU ID.

 

This event is part of the University Toyota University Arts Series produced by WVU Arts & Entertainment. Stay connected with the latest event updates through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by following @wvuevents.