Gary Clark Jr.

Guitarist and vocalist Gary Clark, Jr. forged an unpredictable path that began with blues-rock fireworks before weaving in funk, hard rock, and hip-hop elements across his shifting style. Early on he leaned into the Austin blues lineage, landing a major breakthrough with the 2012 release Blak and Blu. Soon afterward he ventured beyond most current blues players by teaming with R&B vocalist Alicia Keys and alt-rock band Foo Fighters, then turned toward social commentary on the charged 2019 album This Land and later folded in African rhythms on the potent 2024 project JPEG RAW.

Raised in Austin, Clark first grasped a guitar at twelve and spent his teenage years taking every local gig available. He crossed paths with promoter Clifford Antone, owner of the city’s flagship blues venue Antone’s, who started booking him regularly. As a commanding live act, Clark quickly rose among the top talents on the Austin blues and rock circuit. He issued the independent album Tribute in 2005, followed by two self-produced efforts on Hotwire Unlimited in 2008—110 and Worry No More—plus the 2010 Hotwire EP Gary Clark, Jr.

Yet Clark proved far more than a flashy six-string specialist; he also sang, composed, and arranged. He penned the original score for the film Full Count and acted in John Sayles’s 2007 feature Honeydripper. Selected by Eric Clapton for the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival, Clark appeared on the resulting video release, which secured him a Warner Bros. contract. He entered the studio for his major-label debut, preceded by the 2011 EP Bright Lights and followed by Blak and Blu in fall 2012. The Top Ten album earned a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance on the track “Please Come Home.” His next project, the two-disc live set Live, captured an eighteen-month tour and conveyed the raw energy and poised elegance of his stage shows.

Following further roadwork that included opening slots for the Rolling Stones and Foo Fighters, Clark delivered his second major-label studio album, 2015’s The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. It entered the Billboard charts at number eight and was promoted with an extensive tour later documented on the 2017 release Live North America 2016. That year he scored his first chart single with a cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together,” cut for the Justice League soundtrack.

In 2018 Clark contributed vocals and guitar to “Where It’s at Ain’t What It Is” on Tom Morello’s all-star album The Atlas Underground. His fifth studio effort, This Land, arrived in March 2019 and examined the contemporary political climate from the viewpoint of a Black Texan; it received four Grammy nominations, one of them for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

While the COVID-19 pandemic paused his touring, Clark remained active through guest appearances. He played guitar on hip-hop producer Statik Selektah’s 2020 album The Balancing Act, joined John Legend on the 2020 LP Bigger Love, appeared on Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews’s 2022 record Lifted, featured on live albums by Willie Nelson and the Rolling Stones, and recorded the Ides of March’s 1970 hit “Vehicle” for the 2022 animated film Minions: The Rise of Gru. During the same stretch he wrote and demoed fresh material, culminating in the 2024 major-label release JPEG RAW. The sessions brought in two of his idols, Stevie Wonder and George Clinton, and found Clark merging African influences with his usual wide stylistic palette.