Kenny Wayne Shepherd brought his band on tour to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of his debut album, Ledbetter Heights, at The Hard Rock Live Orlando, Florida, on April 12, 2026. Shepherd released Ledbetter Heights on September 19, 1995 at the age of eighteen years old. The album rose to number one on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart and number two on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums Chart. The top charting single “Déjà Voodoo” hit number nine on Billboards Mainstream Rock Tracks, making the album highly successful, reaching certified Platinum.
This night was a special show; on this tour, every song on the Ledbetter Heights album is in the setlist for the first time in 30 years. The show started off with the title track, and the setlist just grew from the first note.
The original album was recorded with the late Corey Sterling on vocals. Since the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band added full-time vocalist, Noah Hunt, in 1997, Ledbetter Heights has been re-recorded and remixed with Hunt on vocals, and is set to be released in early May of 2026. Noah Hunt is a songwriter, rhythm guitar player, and vocalist who has become the bluesy vocal sound of the Kenny Wayne Shepherd band behind the dominant guitar licks of Shepherd’s thundering Fender Guitar.
Shepherd’s rhythm section is anchored by Chris Layton on drums and bassist Kevin McCormick. Layton was a part of Stevie Ray Vaughan‘s band Double Trouble, and McCormick has played with greats Melissa Etheridge, Jackson Browne, John Mayall, and Crosby Stills & Nash to name a few. Keyboard player Joe Krown has been with the band for nine years and is an accomplished New Orleans-style piano and Hammond Organ player. Rounding out the band is the horn section of Doug Woolverton on trumpet and saxophone player Charlie DiPuma.
The lower bowl was sold out at Hard Rock Live Orlando, and the concert was an intimate experience with Kenny Wayne Shepherd addressing the crowd with the history of the album and what to expect from the re-recorded version being released next month. It was very personal, and the audience ate it up as they were being personally addressed and were feeling a part of the show. The length of the show warranted splitting the concert into two sets. Set two really kicked into gear with “I Got a Woman” from Dirt On My Diamonds, Vol. 2, “Blue on Black”, from the 1998 album Trouble Is.., and the final song, the Joe Walsh cover, “Turn to Stone”. I have to say, this was the first show that didn’t feature Jimi Hendrix‘s “Voodoo Child”. But no worries, there were so many songs that showcased Shepherd’s talent.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is the finest living blues guitarist and maybe the finest guitar player on the planet in my humble opinion. But, don’t take my word for it, if you have not experienced his guitar mastery, it’s time to get out and see this great artist.
Band Members:
Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Lead Guitar/Vocals
Noah Hunt – Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Percussion
Chris Layton – Drums
Kevin McCormick – Bass
Joe Krown – Keyboards
Doug Woolverton – Trumpet
Charlie DiPuma – Saxophone
Setlist:
1.Ledbetter Heights
2. Born With a Broken Heart
3. What’s Goin’ Down
4. Deja Voodoo
5. Shame, Shame, Shame
6. Riverside
7. Aberdeen Mississippi Blues (Bukka White cover)
8. One Foot on the Path
9. I’m Leaving You (Commit a Crime) (Howlin’ Wolf cover)
9. Everybody Gets the Blues
10. (Let Me Up) I’ve Had Enough
11. While We Cry
Set 2:
12. I Got a Woman
13. Watch You Go
14. Talk to Me Baby (Elmore James cover)
15. I Found Love (When I Found You)
16. Dark Side of Love
17. Blue on Black (with band introductions)
18. Turn to Stone (Joe Walsh cover)
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Photographer and Editor/Founder of AllMusicMagazine.com. My love of live music has taken me to incredible experiences with the top bands of all time in stadium shows to the smallest venues with equally inspiring musicians. Using the medium of photography and my publication, these memories will last forever.