It’s been a busy few months for husband and wife band leaders Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks as their Tedeschi Trucks Band project put out a sensational debut album in Revelator last month and have recently returned from a well-received European tour. On Sunday, the Tedeschi Trucks Band will kick off a lengthy tour of the States that brings them to such storied venues as the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, the Tower Theater in Philadelphia and the Beacon in NYC before it wraps up in September.
[TTB member Kebbi Williams teaches Susan flute by Stuart Raper]
To document the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s first trip to Europe, the group enlisted a special correspondent named Stuart Raper, who traveled with the 11-piece band to every stop, to blog about their journey. So far Stuart has posted four entries to TedeschiTrucksBand.com that detail the behind the scenes and onstage action from shows in London, Vienne, Montreux, Stuttgart and Paris. Raper’s blogs don’t just stick to the TTB, he also tells the tales of Derek and Susan’s collaborations with other musicians such as their sit in with B.B. King in London…
Derek and Susan arrived a few days early to go sit in with B.B. King at Royal Albert Hall, much to B.B. and the crowd’s enthusiasm, as well as theirs. B.B. was also joined by Ronnie Wood, Slash, and Mick Hucknall. The next night at Shepherd’s Bush, as Derek tore through Eric Clapton’s “Anyday,” complete with “Blue Sky” tease, Derek proved his skills at paying homage to the greats. Sly Stone’s “Sing A Simple Song” showed off the band’s love of classic funk, and it was during this song a TTB crew member spotted Steve Winwood in the balcony clapping his hands and singing along to the chorus. He surely wasn’t the only one in this packed house that was excited.
The next entry is expected to be about the TTB’s stop in Bonn, Germany where they performed as part of a co-bill with Gregg Allman. We look forward to hearing Stuart’s take on the evening, which included guest spots from both Susan and Derek during Allman’s show-closing set.
