Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by Junkman
How many guitar players does it take to raise funds for veterans and first responders? Your first inclination might be to gather as many as possible. For America Salutes You, it was more about quality, A-listers, cream of the crop, the best in show, in a word (or two) — “Guitar Legends.” For Guitar Legends II, returning slingers Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction), and Orianthi were joined by Joe Bonamassa, Stephen Stills, Vernon Reed, Emily Estefan, Don Felder, Laurence Juber, and Robbie Krieger, for a night of blues, rock and recognition.
In addition to a whole bunch of guitar players, the night featured singer Sammy Hagar, singer Anthony Kearns, singer Haley Reinhart, blues harmonica player and singer James Harman, comedian Bob Saget and actor Joseph Mantegna, plus a seven-piece house band that included drummer Kenny Aronoff, bassist Carmine Rojas and guitarist Phil LoPresti. For nearly two hours, awards and honors were bestowed and the music flowed.
The concert, which benefited the David Lynch Foundation, G.I.F.T., the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Headstrong and Entertainment Industries Council, will broadcast nationally on December 22, 2018. Through a series of events like this, America Salutes You aims to bring national and international awareness to mental and brain health issues and raise funds for mental wellness charities, with an emphasis on veterans and first responder nonprofits.
Musical highlights of the evening included Gibbons and Harman laying it down and dirty during ZZ Top’s “Sharp-Dressed Man”; Reinhart teaming with Krieger for a jazzy take of the Doors’ “Light My Fire”; Hagar, Krieger and Bonamassa rocking another Doors classic “Roadhouse Blues”; Stills, Gibbons, Orianthi, Reinhart and Krieger rolling through a glorious “Love The One You’re With”; Reid kicking in on Jimi Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic”; Felder and Orianthi trading licks on “Hotel California”; and the grand finale with virtually everyone on War’s “Low Rider.”
Both Mantegna and renowned television producer and writer Norman Lear (not in attendance) received Lifetime Achievement Awardees between sets.
While it was a treat to hear so many classic songs, one couldn’t help but notice the outstanding guitar performances, thanks to Bonamassa’s bluesy intonations, Juber’s mastery of the acoustic, and Orianthi’s telepathic interplay with the other musicians. Emily Estefan, daughter of Gloria and Emilio, also unleashed a fury of notes during “Black Magic Woman.”
Tonight’s “Guitar Legends” was a eclectic mix of players with a common objective of breaking musical barriers and harnessing their gift for the betterment of the world at large.
