The iconic British guitarist with a star-filled resume played the first of two sold-out concerts at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up and proved he hasn’t lost a step. (Review, photos)
For the past 50 years, Albert Lee has brought his phenomenal songwriting and performances to venues across the globe. often performing with other legends such as Eric Clapton and Emmylou Harris.
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On Saturday night in Spring Lake, he set fire to the strings once more, showing the 72-year-old guitarist hasn’t lost a step.
The sold-out crowd at the intimate Seven Steps Up stood and cheered before the final encore played, applauding Lee’s versatile mix of blues, rockabilly, heartful ballads and pure rock ‘n’ roll.
Armed with a full band — bassist Will MacGregor, drummer Jason Smith and keyboard player John “J.T.” Thomas — Lee thrilled the crowd on guitar late into the night, and even surprised fans when he sat down at a piano and played a few numbers on keys.
Lee and his band hit the ground running with a blues cover of “I’m Ready” by Fats Domino, and proved their versatility all night, jumping from genre to genre with ease — from the twangy original “Country Boy” to an upbeat cover of Ray Charles’ “Leave My Woman Alone.”
And for an encore performance toward the end of the night, Lee put down his candy red guitar to sit at the keys, where he led the band in a powerful original, “A Better Place.”
Lee plays a second sold-out show at Seven Steps Up at 7 tonight (Sunday). Read the Local Spins interview with Albert Lee here.
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