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NEW SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT! Soul of Buffalo Proudly Presents BUDDY GUY 90! Sat JULY 18, 2026 | 7pm
Living Legend Makes 1st Appearance at Kleinhans Music Hall for His 90th Birthday!
Pre-sale begins Wed FEB 11 at 10am
(Use Passcode: BUDDY90)
https://kleinhansbuffalo.org/event/buddyguy/
General on sale begins FRI FEB 13 at 10am
More than 57 years after his first known appearance in Buffalo, NY - at blues guitarist James Peterson's Governor's Inn at 621 Sycamore St. in March, 1969 - and then again during the 1969 Buffalo Blues Festival, July 11-13, 1969, when he was just 33 years old - with co-headliners Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton Blues Band, Luthor Allison and Junior Wells - Living Blues Legend BUDDY GUY celebrates his 90th birthday 12 days early in historic fashion at KLEINHANS MUSIC HALL, Buffalo, NY on Saturday, July 18, 2026 at 7pm.
Buddy Guy stands as one of the most influential guitarists in American music. As a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a pioneer of Chicago’s explosive West Side sound, he has been a guiding force for generations of rock & blues legends.
The nine-time GRAMMY winner has also earned a Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY, 38 Blues Music Awards, the Billboard Century Award, the Presidential National Medal of Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honor. Rolling Stone ranks him #23 on “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”
Born in 1936 in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Buddy built his first two-string guitar at age seven. His life changed in 1957 when he moved to Chicago and began recording for Chess Records and collaborating with its legendary roster. His raw emotion, showmanship, and blistering guitar style reshaped the instrument’s possibilities and set a new standard for electric blues.
Remarkably, in 2025 - after a career which includes 110 albums, singles and live recordings - he released Ain’t Done with the Blues, produced by longtime collaborator Tom Hambridge, another Buffalo favorite. The record features The Blind Boys of Alabama, Peter Frampton, Joe Walsh, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and Joe Bonamassa. Its lead single, “How Blues Is That?” reaffirmed the grit, humor, and wisdom that define his late-career longevity.
As Buddy shared, “This album is about where I’ve been and where I’m going… Before they passed, Muddy, Wolf, Walter, Sonny Boy, B.B. used to say, ‘If you outlive me, just keep the blues alive.’ I’m trying to keep that promise.”
Ain't Done with the Blues drew widespread acclaim, praising Buddy as “masterful,” “vital,” and “one of the last of the great bluesmen.” Around the same time, his appearance in Ryan Coogler’s blockbuster movie SINNERS - starring Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld, wife of Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen - introduced him to yet another generation.
Now, as he celebrates his 90th year, Buddy Guy remains one of the last surviving architects of electric blues; a bridge from the fields of Louisiana to the clubs of Chicago and the world’s biggest stages. Whether creating new music, inspiring rising artists, or electrifying audiences with a fire that has defined him for nearly a century, Buddy Guy continues to show that the blues not only lives, it thrives.
Tickets prices for BUDDY GUY 90 start at only $55, plus fees. Don't miss the BIGGEST BLUES show of 2026 in our hometown!
#buffalobluessummer
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Kleinhans Music Hall, 360 Pennsylvania St, Buffalo, NY 14201-1202, United States
Tickets
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