The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Top guitarist Eric Gales will perform free show in Whitesburg Thursday


Guitarist Eric Gales is here Thursday, August 12.

Guitarist Eric Gales is here Thursday, August 12.

Renowned six-string virtuoso Eric Gales headlines the Levitt AMP Whitesburg Music Series on August 12.

Eric Gales grew up in a musical family with four brothers, two of them who learned to play the guitar upside down and left-handed in the same fashion that Eric does. Eric released his first record at Age 16 for Elektra records to an amazing response from the media and music fans around the globe. Guitar World Magazine’s Readers Poll named Eric “Best New Talent,” in 1991. After recording a second record for Elektra, all three brothers teamed up for The Gales Bros. “Left Hand Brand” which was recorded for the House of Blues label in 1996.

Through the years, it would not be unusual to look out in the audience and see artists like Carlos Santana, Eric Johnson, B. B. King, and Eric Clapton, looking on with interest as Eric took his guitar and worked crowd after crowd into a frenzy.

As both an African-American left-handed guitarist of extraordinary ability and an expressive vocalist, it is natural for people to compare Eric to Hendrix. But Eric has developed a unique hybrid blues/rock sound that also draws upon influences as diverse as Albert King and Frank Gambale. A unique amalgam of styles, Eric Gales stands head and shoulders among other guitarists in his genre.

Eric Gales will hit the stage at 7 p.m. Second Hand Groove opens at 6 p.m. The Whitesburg Farmers Market opens at 5 p.m.

The Levitt AMP Whitesburg Music Series is held on Thursday evenings through September 23 at the Mountain

Heritage Festival stage in downtown Whitesburg. The shows are free to the public and family-friendly.

Major sponsors for the series include Levitt Foundation, Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation, Double Kwik, the Appalachian Impact Fund, and Kentucky Power.

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