 "Every time you play," says Kenny Wayne Shepherd, "it's important. It doesn't matter if it's a little club somewhere or a big arena with thousands of people - you make a connection. Blues is about real life, real feelings. You can make them feel it."
With the release of "Ledbetter Heights", his debut album, Kenny quickly climbed the charts. He had three top 10 single tracks on the rock charts along with holding the #1 position on Billboard Magazine's Blues Chart for over five months.
Kenny was exposed to a variety of music at an early age, and his father's career in radio offered access to entertainers from the rock, pop and country worlds. But the spark that would become a burning passion was struck by legendary bluesman, Stevie Ray Vaughan. While his friends listened to typical pop fare, Kenny found himself drawn to the deeper message of the blues. Still a child, he dove headlong into a serious study of the masters, developing uncanny takes on their individual styles.
By 13, Kenny's considerable gifts were evident, at least to his family and friends. Never having played in front of a crowd, however, he was still unsure of his own abilities until a family trip to New Orleans, where he encountered local guitar legend, Bryan Lee. After much persuading, Lee was convinced to let "the kid" sit in. Kenny blew the crowd away, and he and Bryan began a friendship that continues today. The event served as proof to the young guitarist that he could, and should, pursue his music career.
Kenny began sitting in with other performers and formed his own band. Appearances at clubs and festivals soon followed. The buzz began among the blues elite: "Have you heard about this kid from Shreveport?" Kenny met and jammed with many of his heroes, earning accolades from each. He also played on posthumous Willie Dixon and Albert King releases, which featured Kenny adding licks to sides that the legendary bluesmen had cut before their deaths. Inevitably, word spread to the highest branches of the music industry, and Kenny was signed to Revolution Records by Irving Azoff in 1993.
In May '95, as they wrapped production on the album, Kenny and his band were asked to open for the Eagles at Austin's Memorial Stadium. Their four-song set left Azoff shaking his head in wonder: "He is truly a phenomenon. He plays like someone who's lived a lot longer than he has. You don't learn what he has, it's given to you."
Kenny's live shows have been met with increasing enthusiasm over the past twelve months. Kenny performed at the celebrated South By Southwest Convention in February before setting out on an extended U.S. solo tour. Over the past year and a half, Kenny has been joined on stage by such admirers as Slash and Richie Sambora, and has opened for Bob Dylan on several occasions. The critics have been equally enthusiastic, with the Seattle Times in a concert review calling Kenny "a fiery passionate guitarist;" the Los Angeles Times claimed "the solo work he weaves is as evocative as any lyric;" People predicted "he could join the pantheon of blues greats -- before he hits 30," and USA Today called him "a best bet for stardom."
"I don't want people to just listen to my music," cautions Kenny. "I want them to hear it. Having people appreciate what I do is the ultimate satisfaction for me. I think there's a big explosion happening in blues-based music, and it's very exciting. I'm glad to be a part of it. I want to turn my generation on to it. I want to help keep it alive for them."
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