2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Village

by Staff.

If you watched the July 28, 2007, online broadcast of the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Concert and noticed a number of empty seats at the sold out event, odds are the majority of missing concert goers were visiting the Village. Wanting to give ticket holders something more than the Toyota Park main stage star-studded show, festival organizers also presented the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Village that featured its own performance stage and guitar-related happenings sponsored by Guitar Center, Ernie Ball, Fender, Gibson Guitar and DigiTech.

Main Stage of the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Concert. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Though the main concert didn't kickoff until around noon, Chicago's Toyota Park opened the gates at 9 a.m. giving ticket holders the chance to visit the Festival Village that had been constructed in an open area between the entry gates and the main stage.

Here's a glimpse of what the 28,000 concert goers experienced at the Village.

Ernie Ball/Guitar Center Village Stage

Called in just a few weeks before the event, Louisiana-based blues artist Tab Benoit and his band (Leon Medica on bass and David Peters on drums, who are also members of LeRoux) entertained the festival crowd and served as the backing group for both other well known artists and several young up-and-coming players. Festival Stage entertainment included appearances by 16-year-old Tyler Dow Bryant (winner of the Ernie Ball Play Crossroads! competition), National Fingerstyle Champion Pete Huttlinger, Orianthi, Jed Hughes, Todd Wolfe, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, and Harvey Mandel. Albert Lee performed later in the day without Benoit and his band.

Photographer Robert M. Knight, about whom a documentary will be released next year that features Tyler Dow Bryant and Orianthi along with many other top guitarists and rock celebrities, followed the action on the Village Stage as seen in the photos below.

Village Stage at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Tab Benoit on the Village Stage at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Tab Benoit performs on the Village Stage at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Tyler Dow Bryant performs on the Village Stage at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Tyler Dow Bryant and Janie Hendrix at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Village. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Jedd Hughes performs on the Village Stage at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Orianthi performs on the Village Stage at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Group jam on the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Village Stage. L-R: Orianthi; Tab Benoit; Tyler Dow Bryant; Jedd Hughes; Leon Medica; and, Harvey Mandel. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Group shot of some of the performers who appeared on the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Village Stage. L-R: Jedd Hughes; Tab Benoit; Tyler Dow Bryant; Orianthi; Todd Wolfe; Leon Medica; and, Harvey Mandel. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Albert Lee performs on the Village Stage at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter performs on the Village Stage at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Note that Tab Benoit is on drums. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Guitar Center's Legends Collection Tent

In addition to co-sponsoring the Ernie Ball/Guitar Center Village Stage, Guitar Center presented a unique exhibit of three iconic electric guitars it dubbed the Legends Collection: Eric Clapton's Blackie Stratocaster, Stevie Ray Vaughan's Lenny Strat, and Clapton's Cream-era Gibson ES-335, an historic trio acquired by Guitar Center at the 2004 Eric Clapton Crossroads Auction for a combined price of over 2.4 million dollars. The instruments were shown in one-of-a-kind climate-controlled display cases that made their public debut at the festival. “Guitar Center is proud to once again be involved with Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival,” said Marty Albertson, Chairman/CEO, Guitar Center. “After the success of the 2004 festival, we are excited to take part in bringing the Legends Collection to music fans and are thrilled to help in supporting such a great cause.”

Guitar Center's Legends Tent at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Guitar Center's Legends Tent at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Inside Guitar Center's Legends Tent at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. L-R: Eric Clapton's Blackie Stratocaster; Stevie Ray Vaughan's Lenny Stratocaster; and, Eric Clapton's Cream-era Gibson ES-335. Photo by Robert M. Knight.

Fender

Fender's participation in the Festival Village saw it hosting three tents: one devoted to acoustic guitars, one to electrics, and a third, called the Artist Tent, in which it had created an interactive environment that recreated the guitar-amp rigs of several of the Festival's main stage performers such as Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and John Mayer, allowing Festival goers an opportunity to test drive equipment similar to the gear used by these players. Paul Jernigan, Fender Vice President of Marketing, described the three tents as "guitar petting zoos." The point of the three Fender tents was to give concert attendees a chance to sit down with a variety of equipment for a hands-on interactive experience.

The three Fender Tents at the 2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. Photo courtesy of Fender.

Gibson Guitar

Gibson Guitar was on hand via its Gibson Tour Bus that both served as an informal Green Room for performers on the Village Stage and offered the public the chance to view a variety of Gibson instruments. “Gibson Guitar is proud to support Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival and Village for the benefit of this worthy cause,” commented Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman/CEO, Gibson Guitar. “We are excited to help bring the great music of the festival to the fans through our sponsorship of this premier event.” Gibson also provided several Gibson Custom guitars that celebrities autographed for a later auction that will benefit Crossroads Centre.

Gibson Tour Bus. Photo courtesy of Gibson Guitar.

Inside the Gibson Tour Bus. Photo courtesy of Gibson Guitar.

Other Festival Village Participants

The Crossroads Festival Village experience was rounded out with the participation of The Crossroads Center, Antiqua; DigiTech, who presented the DigiTruck featuring DigiTech and Harman products such as dbx, Lexicon, BSS, Crown, Soudcraft, JBL and AKG in the truck's product room and lounge; the Limelight Agency that represents the artwork of luminaries such as Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, Jimi Hendrix, and photographer Robert M. Knight; and, Rolling Stone Authentic with Rolling Stone magazine's incredible collection of posters.

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Related Links
Guitar Center
Fender
Gibson Guitar
Ernie Ball
The Crossroads Centre, Antiqua
DigiTech
Limelight Agency
Rolling Stone Authentic
Photographer Robert M. Knight
Tab Benoit
Tyler Dow Bryant
Jedd Hughes
Orianthi
Todd Wolfe
Harvey Mandel
Albert Lee