It’s not often nowadays that a blues guitarist achieves such a wide reaching buzz, but when you see Gary Clark Jr. live, it’s easy to understand why he has been the subject of so much attention.  The Austin native began playing the guitar at the age of 12, and was taken under the wing of famed local promoter Clifford Antone, owner of the local blues club Antone’s.  By the time he was 17, Austin’s mayor had declared a “Gary Clark Jr. Day” in the Live Music Capital of the World, and Clark was balancing his fame there with high school. 

After two albums on a smaller label, Clark released his major label debut Blak and Blu in 2012.  In a genre where the older vanguard fret about disappearing interest, Gary Clark Jr. ignites an enthusiasm for the blues that makes him an obvious choice as one of the 20 Black Voices for a New Century.  He “Ain’t Messin ‘Round”!