“I do it because I want to hear these players,” Eric Clapton says, during an exclusive interview (with Rolling Stone Magazine) announcing his third Crossroads Guitar Festival.

The first Crossroads Guitar Festival, in June 2004 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, was an unprecedented collection of guitar icons from blues, rock and contemporary music.

The sold-out show was chronicled in a 2-disc DVD that has since gone on to become one of the world’s top-selling music DVD’s, recently achieving the 8x platinum mark in the United States alone.

The Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 was the second such concert by Clapton and was also staged at Toyota Park in July of 2007 and was filmed for a second DVD that met similar acclaim and achieved multi-platinum status.

The 2010 show will be held on June 26th at Toyota Park in Chicago.

Like the previous concerts and the best-selling DVDs from those festivals, this year’s event benefits the Crossroads Centre, the addiction-treatment facility founded by Clapton on the Caribbean island of Antigua in the early Nineties. “But it’s a selfish thing,” he admits delightedly. “I can go to one place and hear all of my favorite musicians in one day.”

Current Artist Listing Confirmed

• Allman Brothers Band
• BB King
• Bert Jansch
• Buddy Guy
• David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos
• Doyle Bramhall II
• Earl Klugh
• Eric Clapton
• Gary Clark Jr.
• Hubert Sumlin
• James Burton
• Jeff Beck
• Jimmie Vaughan
• Joao Gilberto
• Joe Bonamassa
• John Mayer
• John Renbourn
• Keb Mo
• Pino Daniele
• Robert Cray
• Robert Randolph
• Sheryl Crow
• Sonny Landreth
• Steve Winwood
• Vince Gill
• ZZ Top

Tickets for the Crossroads Guitar Festival will go on sale to the public on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 10 AM Central Time via TicketMaster.

Tickets will be priced at $100 plus parking and applicable fees.

The commercial says: “it’s not just a phone, it’s a collector’s item.”

[Video]

The myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition is available for $179.99 with a new two-year T-Mobile agreement.

I will admit, it’s pretty cool!

The “Must See Concert” of 2010!

U.S. audiences recently saw Jeff Beck’s guitar mastery at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden. Beck’s 40 minute set with guests Sting, Buddy Guy and Billy Gibbons along with a blistering rendition of “Superstition” in Stevie Wonder’s set received strong critical acclaim.

The Beck-Clapton collaboration will undoubtedly be one an amazing show.  The artists will perform in sets “Together and Apart”.

The duo have shared the stage at Festivals and benefits previously. Both artists admitted to having a fantastic time on stage together…

The following shows have been announced:

• Thursday, February 18, 2010, New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
• Sunday, February 21, 2010, Toronto, Canada, Air Canada Center
• Monday, February 22, 2010, Montreal, Canada, Bell Center

“Eric and I played together in Japan earlier this year and had a blast. Since then we have been in regular contact and talked about doing a similar show for our fans. Looking forward to the shows in 2010,” — Jeff Beck.

“I’ve always considered Jeff Beck to be one of the finest guitar players around. He’s a friend, a great guy, and a truly gifted musician. We had such a fun time in Japan that it seemed natural to play together again,” — Eric Clapton.

My guess is that other cities will follow… if not, be ready to buy the double DVD in the fall!

From the PRESS RELEASE: Clapton and Winwood have had long and prestigious musical careers with countless honors and awards to their names. Their musical paths connected in 1969 with the formation of Blind Faith, a group that pioneered the fusion of rock and blues into tremendous studio and stage success. Despite critical and popular acclaim, the band was short-lived with only one album and a brief 1969 tour that debuted July 12 at Madison Square Garden and ended August 24th in Hawaii. Since that final show, Winwood and Clapton have remained friends, but have only performed together a few times over the years for an occasional song at a charity event.

The 2008 Madison Square Garden shows were the first full Winwood-Clapton concerts in 40 years. Additionally, 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of Blind Faith and 40 years since they performed to over 100,000 people in Hyde Park, London. Steve Winwood is currently signed to Columbia Records and released an album of new music, NINE LIVES in 2008. Eric Clapton’s compilation album Complete Clapton was released in 2008 on Reprise Records. The duo’s captivating performance at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago can be seen as part of a 2-disc DVD available now from Rhino Entertainment. A forthcoming 2-disc DVD/CD of the duo’s Madison Square Garden shows will be released this Spring.

2009 TOUR SCHEDULE:

June 10 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center

June 12 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center

June 13 Washington, DC Verizon Center

June 15 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center

June 17 Chicago, IL United Center

June 18 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center

June 20 Omaha, NE Qwest Center

June 21 Denver, CO Pepsi Center

June 23 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

June 24 Houston, TX Toyota Center

June 26 Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Arena

June 27 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Arena

June 29 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

June 30 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl

LINK TO ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE

I have read my copy through two times… and I am sure one day there will be a third.

Editorial Review: With striking intimacy and candor, Eric Clapton tells the story of his eventful and inspiring life in this poignant and honest autobiography. More than a rock star, he is an icon, a living embodiment of the history of rock music. Well known for his reserve in a profession marked by self-promotion, flamboyance, and spin, he now chronicles, for the first time, his remarkable personal and professional journeys.

Born illegitimate in 1945 and raised by his grandparents, Eric never knew his father and, until the age of nine, believed his actual mother to be his sister. In his early teens his solace was the guitar, and his incredible talent would make him a cult hero in the clubs of Britain and inspire devoted fans to scrawl Clapton is God on the walls of London s Underground. With the formation of Cream, the world’s first supergroup, he became a worldwide superstar, but conflicting personalities tore the band apart within two years. His stints in Blind Faith, in Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and in Derek and the Dominos were also short-lived but yielded some of the most enduring songs in history, including the classic Layla.

During the late sixties he played as a guest with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, as well as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and longtime friend George Harrison. It was while working with the latter that he fell for George s wife, Pattie Boyd, a seemingly unrequited love that led him to the depths of despair, self-imposed seclusion, and drug addiction. By the early seventies he had overcome his addiction and released the bestselling album 461 Ocean Boulevard, with its massive hit I Shot the Sheriff. He followed that with the platinum album Slowhand, which included Wonderful Tonight, the touching love song to Pattie, whom he finally married at the end of 1979. A short time later, however, Eric had replaced heroin with alcohol as his preferred vice, following a pattern of behavior that not only was detrimental to his music but contributed to the eventual breakup of his marriage.

In the eighties he would battle and begin his recovery from alcoholism and become a father. But just as his life was coming together, he was struck by a terrible blow: His beloved four-year-old son, Conor, died in a freak accident. At an earlier time Eric might have coped with this tragedy by fleeing into a world of addiction. But now a much stronger man, he took refuge in music, responding with the achingly beautiful Tears in Heaven.

Clapton is the powerfully written story of a survivor, a man who has achieved the pinnacle of success despite extraordinary demons. It is one of the most compelling memoirs of our time.