Buddy Guy at Buddy Guy's Legends
photo by Brigid Gallagher

Buddy Guy’s Legends hosts the legend himself every January (check out photos from the residency)

Since its opening in June of 1989, Buddy Guy’s Blues Legends in Chicago has been not just a blues club but a living museum of its history.

Beyond the legendary performers on stage, the walls are overflowing with the history of the blues. It’s like a museum, if museums would let you drink and dance. Where else can blues fans find original artwork painted on the wall, records, rare photos and old Howlin’ Wolf contracts, along with personal items from some of the world’s most influential performers? Among the many items on display: Buddy’s Grammy and Blues Music Awards…as well as his Kennedy Center Honors and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame statue. You’ll also find the guitar Keith Richards gave to Buddy in the Scorsese film Shine A Light, gloves from Muhammad Ali, and the most recent addition: a pair of shoes and a scarf from Jimi Hendrix. A world-renowned collection of guitars hangs behind the bar, gifts from B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. (via Buddy Guy’s Legends History)

As Buddy Guy himself said during this show, part of his annual January residency at his namesake club, “I didn’t open up this club to make a living off it. I opened it to keep the Blues alive.” The residency shows, dubbed “The Buddy Shows” by fans, run Thursday through Sunday every week in January 2017 with various openers. Pictures from the January 19 show, with opener Alex Wilson and special guests Quinn Sullivan, Scott Holt, and Buddy’s son Greg Guy, are in the gallery above. Dates and openers for the remaining January residency shows are below.

Buddy’s North American tour continues beyond the January residency shows into May. These shows are part of the Buddy Guy Blues Tour for Prostate Cancer, benefiting prostate cancer education and awareness, with PCa Blue Inc. They’re also running a contest:

Between now and February 14, 2017, donate for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win a signed Buddy Guy polka dot strat. A $35 donation gives you one entry. Donate $100 and receive 3 entries, increasing your chances to win this special item spotlighting Buddy’s support of PCa Blue in memory of his brother Phil Guy, who died from prostate cancer. The winner will be announced at a performance at Buddy Guy’s Legends club in Chicago on February 15, 2017, which also will be live streamed across the world.

Visit PCa Blue‘s donation page for more info and to donate. A full list of Buddy’s tour dates is below.

Buddy Guy – 2017 Tour Dates
January 26 Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago, IL (with Linsey Alexander)
January 27 Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago, IL (with Toronzo Cannon)
January 28 Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago, IL (with NuBlu Band ft Carlise Guy)
January 29 Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago, IL (with Sheryl Youngblood)
March 01 The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA
March 04 Harrah’s Resort SoCal, Valley Center, CA
March 07 Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
March 09 Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie, Grand Prairie, TX
March 16 The Orpheum Theater Memphis, Memphis, TN
March 18 Lied Center for Performing Arts, Lincoln, NE
March 22 Murat Theatre at Old National Centre, Indianapolis, IN
March 23 Fox Theatre Detroit, Detroit, MI
March 25 The Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
April 04 Gallard Center, Charleston, SC
April 05 King Performing Arts Center, Melbourne, FL
April 06 Pompano Beach Amphitheater, Pompano Beach, FL
April 07 Tampa Bay Blues Festival, St Petersburg, FL
April 09 St Augustine Amphitheatre, St Augustine, FL
April 10 Artis-Naples, Naples, FL
April 21 University At Buffalo Center for the Arts, Buffalo, NY
April 22 Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada
April 25 Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT
April 26 Lyell Clay Concert Theatre, Morgantown, WV
April 28 Borgata Casino Music Box, Atlantic City, NJ
April 29 NYCB Theatre at Westbury, Westbury, NY
May 04 Lied Center for Performing Arts, Lincoln, NE
May 11 Indiana University Auditorium, Bloomington, IN
May 14 Palace Theatre-Greensburg, Greensburg, PA
May 16 The State Theatre, Falls Church, VA
May 17 Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ
May 19 B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, New York, NY
May 20 B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, New York, NY
July 12 L’Olympia, Paris, France

photos by Brigid Gallagher