Great Performances: Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival 3, Bill Murray hosts for PBS

By April MacIntyre May 20, 2011, 5:51 GMT

In Chicago on June 2010, Eric Clapton gathered the world\'s most talented guitar players at the third Crossroads Guitar Festival, an 11-hour celebration of the six-string that attracted a sold-out crowd of more than 27,000 music fans to Toyota Park.

A no miss event on PBS June 6, as actor Bill Murray hosts a star-studded Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival 3 on PBS' Great Performances on Monday, June 6 at 9 p.m.

Performers Include Clapton, Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, ZZ Top, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, Derek Trucks, Ronnie Wood, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, And More.

In Chicago on June 2010, Eric Clapton gathered the world's most talented guitar players at the third Crossroads Guitar Festival, an 11-hour celebration of the six-string that attracted a sold-out crowd of more than 27,000 music fans to Toyota Park.

All profits from this daylong display of guitar virtuosity benefited The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility Clapton founded to help people suffering from chemical dependency.

From PBS

Two hours of highlights from the marathon event, Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival 3 will air as part of Great Performances on Monday, June 6 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). (In New York, THIRTEEN will air the program at 9:30 p.m.)

Clapton notes, "The Crossroads Festival is the realization of a dream for me, to gather a group of amazingly talented musicians to perform on one stage," and adding, "The Crossroads performers are all musicians I admire and respect."  Actor-comedian Bill Murray -- host of the second Crossroads Festival in 2007 -- returns as MC, and supplies the festival's nonmusical highlights with his inimitable style.

It's no surprise a festival named for a Robert Johnson song would include a heavy dose of the blues, and the 2010 edition does not disappoint, with remarkable performances by Sonny Landreth, Gary Clark, Jr., Keb' Mo' and Buddy Guy.

The rock contingent includes ZZ Top, Jeff Beck, the John Mayer Trio, Doyle Bramhall II, the Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Warren Haynes and Steve Winwood, who teamed with Clapton for several performances including an epic cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile."

Also featured, Vince Gill's amazing take on Clapton's "Lay Down Sally" accompanied by the legendary James Burton and others; and Jeff Beck who performs "Hammerhead" which won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Also performing: Sheryl Crow, Ronnie Wood, Robert Randolph, Jonny Lang, Joe Bonamassa, Pino Daniele, and Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas.

Song Listing:

"Promise Land" - Sonny Landreth w/Eric Clapton
"Going Down" - Pino Daniele, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph & The Family
Band
"Waiting for The Bus" - ZZ Top
"Jesus Just Left Chicago" - ZZ Top
"Bright Lights" - Gary Clark, Jr.
"Our Love Is Fading" - Sheryl Crow w/Eric Clapton, Doyle Bramhall II &
Gary Clark Jr,
"Lay Down Sally" - Vince Gill w/Sheryl Crow, Keb' Mo', Albert Lee, James
Burton & Earl Klugh
"Who Did You Think I Was" - John Mayer Trio
"Midnight in Harlem" - Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band
"Space Captain" - Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band w/Warren Haynes,
David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas & Chris Stainton
"Five Long Years" - Buddy Guy with Jonny Lang & Ronnie Wood
"Hammerhead" - Jeff Beck
"I Shot the Sheriff" - Eric Clapton
"Had to Cry Today" - Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton
"Voodoo Chile" - Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
"Dear Mr. Fantasy" - Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton

The first Crossroads Guitar Festival, in June 2004 at the Cotton Bowl in
Dallas, an unprecedented collection of guitar icons from blues, rock,
and contemporary music, aired on Great Performances in December of that
year.

The two-disc DVD that has since achieved the 10x platinum mark in
the United States alone. The Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007, the second
such concert by Clapton and also staged at Toyota Park, aired on Great
Performances in November 2007, and its DVD was certified 6x platinum.
The complete 2010 concert was released by Rhino Entertainment on Blu-ray
and DVD.

A Parallel 28 Equipe Inc. Production, Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar
Festival 3 was directed for television by Martin Atkins.  Eric Clapton,
Peter Jackson, James Pluta and Scooter Weintraub are producers; John
Beug and Michael Eaton are executive producers. For Great Performances,
Bill O'Donnell is series producer; and David Horn is executive producer.

Watch the full episode. See more Great Performances.