If you were anywhere near Austin’s Moody Center over the weekend of September 26 and 27, 2026, you likely felt the ground shaking. Eric Clapton brought his legendary Crossroads Guitar Festival to town for its seventh iteration, turning the arena into a massive, star-studded celebration of all things six-string. Because this event only happens every so often (it’s been 7 ish years since the last one), this festival is more special and unique than any other you’ll see. Benefiting the Crossroads Centre Antigua, the weekend was a brilliant reminder of why we fall in love with live music: zero ego, infinite talent, and pairings so delightfully unexpected they felt magical.

Pre-Event Sparks: The Plaza Party and a RockWalk Induction

The party actually started well before the first main stage amplifier was flipped on. On Saturday afternoon, the energy boiled over onto the exterior Dell Technologies Plaza, where early-bird fans gathered for a sun-soaked pre-event celebration packed with live music. The true centerpiece of the afternoon was a historic Guitar Center RockWalk induction. Marking only the second time in history the legendary handprints-in-concrete ceremony has ever left Hollywood, John Mayer took the plaza stage to formally induct PRS Guitars founder Paul Reed Smith into the hall of fame. It was a beautifully fitting tribute to kick off a guitar-centric weekend, acknowledging the mastermind behind the very tools fueling so much of the festival’s legendary tone.

The Ultimate Master of Ceremonies: Bill Murray’s Cosmic Chaos

Tying the entire two-day marathon together was the undisputed king of casual cool, Bill Murray. Dressed in a rotation of increasingly loud, psychedelic Hawaiian shirts and a bucket hat, Murray treated the Moody Center stage like his own personal living room. He solemnly baptized the arena as a “six-string cathedral honoring the Holy Trinity: the Stratocaster, the Telecaster, and the Gibson Les Paul,” before dropping a relentless stream of deadpan stage banter. From joking that his own fingers looked too much like “breakfast sausages” to play the instrument, to walking out during the acoustic sets shaking a single maraca perfectly out of time while whispering “less is more, people,” his eccentric, comedic energy kept the massive crowd laughing between the heavy guitar switchovers.

Deep Roots: The Lone Star State Connection

With the festival setting up shop in Austin, the deep, historic lineage of Texas blues was woven into the very fabric of the weekend. The spirit of the late, legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan was felt everywhere—not just because his iconic “Lenny” Stratocaster was on display at the gear showcase, but because his brother, Jimmie Vaughan, delivered a masterclass in the cool, economic Texas shuffle that defines the Austin sound.

The local connection burned bright when Austin’s own native son, Gary Clark Jr., took the stage to a deafening hometown crowd, unfurling a towering set of fuzzy stoner-rock and modern delta blues. An Austin, Texas native and a four-time Grammy winner, Gary Clark Jr. is one of the most revered and genre-defying guitarists of the modern era. Originally mentored as a teenager by local blues icon Jimmie Vaughan and Antone’s blues club owner Clifford Antone, Clark has built a dynamic career by seamlessly modernizing the blues tradition. His signature sound—often characterized by a heavily distorted, fuzzy guitar style paired with incredibly smooth, soulful vocals that effortlessly blends delta blues, heavy rock, R&B, hip-hop backbeats, and traditional African chants. Celebrated for a live performance style that leaves audiences completely spellbound, he remains deeply connected to his roots as a proud torchbearer of the legendary Texas musical lineage

Meanwhile, Billy Gibbons brought that unmistakable, greasy ZZ Top crunch to the arena. This time, it felt deeply poignant—following the tragic passing of original ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard in August 2026, joining the late bassist Dusty Hill, Gibbons stood as a beautifully resilient monument to Texas rock history. Backed by an incredible power-trio dynamic featuring Austin organist/guitarist Mike Flanigin and legendary Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton, Gibbons tore through stone-cold boogie riffs that proved the Texas groove remains unbroken. To make the local ties even richer, multi-instrumentalist virtuoso Charlie Sexton was spotted floating through the weekend’s festivities, adding another layer of pure Austin music royalty to an event that felt less like a global tour and more like an epic, family-style Texas homecoming. With connections, collabs, and tours with huge names like Dylan, SRV, Bowie, Keith Richards & Ronnie Woods to name a few- he is a treasure with a huge legacy.

The Guitar Center Experience: Where Fans Met Their Heroes (and Found Their Dream Axes)

Beyond the main stage, the festival turned the entire venue into a hands-on theme park for guitar geeks. Stepping into the concourse felt like entering the world’s most premium music shop. As the festival’s exclusive retail partner, Guitar Center hosted an incredible, immersive village right inside the venue. Huge interactive setups from industry giants like Gibson, Fender, Martin, and PRS meant fans didn’t just look—they played.

🎸 GEAR HEAD CORNER: WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR 🎸
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| BRAND / EXHIBIT         | EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS                              |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| Guitar Center Legends   | Up-close looks at Clapton's iconic "Blackie" and   |
| Collection              | SRV's legendary "Lenny" Stratocaster               |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| Gibson Booth            | Hands-on testing of 30+ Gibson and Epiphone models;|
|                         | preview of the 2027 Clapton 1964 ES-335 Reissue    |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+
| Multi-Price Showcases   | Everything from budget-friendly starter electrics  |
|                         | to gorgeous, custom boutique masterworks           |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------+

Fans were actively plugging into premium amps, testing out every effects pedal imaginable, and snapping photos on the famous Gibson Guitar Throne. Best of all? The on-site retail offered guitars across every single price range, allowing casual players to walk away with cool, affordable memorabilia while serious collectors bid on ultra-rare signature axes.

The absolute crown jewel and most expensive instrument offered for purchase at the 2026 Crossroads Festival was the ultra-rare Martin Custom Shop 000-42 Eric Clapton Brazilian acoustic guitar.

As part of the exclusive Guitar Center Crossroads 2026 Collection launched specifically for the festival, this masterpiece was priced at a staggering $24,999.99 and strictly limited to just 5 pieces worldwide. Crafted from legendary, highly-regulated Brazilian Rosewood, it sat at the very top tier of the gear village showcases. Check out more on the gear at Guitar Center.

The 2026 Crossroads Collection & Highlights

• Fender “Blind Faith” Telecaster: A Guitar Center exclusive production model built at Fender’s Corona factory, inspired by the vintage Telecaster Clapton played during his Blind Faith era.
• Martin Signature Models: Includes the Martin Custom Shop 000-42 acoustic and the accessible Martin 000-13E acoustic-electric.
• John Mayer x PRS Silver Sky: A limited-edition collaboration model debuted specifically for the 2026 festival.
• Ernie Ball Commemorative Strings: The first Eric Clapton signature string set released in limited-edition commemorative tins ($29.99).

Night One: Jam-Band Royalty Meets the Blues Elite

The festival opened with stellar opening sets from slide maestro Sonny Landreth (who jammed right out of the gate with Eric Clapton), country picker Ben Haggard, and blues legacy Will Johns. The vibe seamlessly shifted into intricate jazz from Julian Lage, Daniel Santiago, and Pedro Martins, before rolling through lightning-fast acoustic sets by Jerry Douglas, Dirk & Amelia Powell, and Brothers of the Heart.

The temperature spiked heavily when heavyweights like Eric Gales unleashed furious, high-octane blues-rock, followed by Marcus King channeling pure, smoking Southern-fried soul. However, when it came to jaw-dropping speed and precision, Joe Bonamassa was simply operating on another planet. Bonamassa was absolutely amazing, asserting his status as a modern titan by unleashing blazing, lightning-fast runs that felt completely effortless, yet hit with absolute emotional weight.

Not to be outdone in the speed department, the legendary John McLaughlin took the stage and completely rewrote the definition of what is possible on the fretboard. The fusion deity left jaws on the floor, delivering a performance of such complex harmonic architecture and blistering technical speed that it defied his age and status as an elder statesman of jazz-rock.

The historic pinnacle arrived when Eric Clapton, Texas legend Jimmie Vaughan, and Buddy Guy shared the stage for a staggering triple-Stratocaster attack. Proving that age is nothing but a number, a mischievous Buddy Guy playfully “shush” Clapton and Vaughan mid-jam, grinning wildly as he commanded the stage. With heavy doses of his trademark showmanship, razor-sharp humor, and flawless skills. The legendary trio traded scorching solos through a foundational setlist of blues classics, including a roaring rendition of “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues” and Willie Dixon’s “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”.

The undisputed 90-year-old king of Chicago blues stole the show, delivering a masterclass in youthfulness, raw musical skill, and sharp humor. With witty quips like ‘If you didn’t want to hear the blues, you shouldn’t have called me’, he had us inspired & laughing throughout the set.

But the night truly belonged to the collaborative titans. Eric Clapton captained a majestic, career-spanning jam session that anchored the night. The absolute peak of the evening came when The Tedeschi Trucks Band set transformed into a masterclass of icons crossing genres:

• The Indie-Jam Collision: Phish mastermind Trey Anastasio stepped out to trade soaring, elastic phrases with Derek Trucks on Hendrix’s “Little Wing” and George Harrison’s “Wah-Wah”.
• The Velvet-and-Steel Duel: John Mayer then joined the party, wielding his custom PRS Silver Sky to duel Derek Trucks on “Keep On Growing”. Seeing Mayer’s pristine, melodic blues-pop phrasing square off directly against Trucks’ otherworldly, vocal-like slide guitar was a jaw-dropping pairing nobody knew they needed.
• The Grand Finale: To crown the night, Eric Clapton and Doyle Bramhall II walked out, uniting Mayer, Anastasio, and Trucks for a monumental, multi-guitar assault on Derek and the Dominos’ “Got to Get Better in a Little While”.

Night Two: A Generation-Spanning Blues Summit

Day two turned up the heat, trading the blues-rock focus of the first night for an eclectic, high-improvisation vibe that kept the crowd guessing. The afternoon launched into the roots stratosphere as The Del McCoury Band took the stage. The legendary bluegrass icons injected pure string-band joy into the arena, seamlessly welcoming dobro master Jerry Douglas and mandolin phenom Sierra Hull to layer lightning-fast acoustic picking over traditional high-lonesome harmonies. As the electric sets took over, Pete Townshend injected the room with rock-icon swagger, aggressive theatricality, and massive windmill strums.

The collaborative experiments somehow got even wilder on Sunday night:

• The King Family Power Hour: Marcus King returned with a massive emotional set, bringing out his own father, Marvin King, for a beautiful, dual-guitar performance of “Blue Ridge Mountain Moon”. Marcus kept the surprises rolling, inviting Sierra Hull out to shred on “Falling for the Devil” before recruiting Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks to tear the house down with a gritty, blistering cover of Blind Faith’s “Had to Cry Today”.
• The Cosmic Titan Summit: In what was the ultimate jam-band dream pairing of the weekend, Phish mastermind Trey Anastasio returned for his formal slot and invited John Mayer out to share his stage. The two guitar wizards locked eyes and traded sprawling, epic solos on a mind-bending jam through “What’s Going Through Your Mind,” earning a thunderous, venue-shaking standing ovation from 15,000 spellbound fans.

The roots and sacred steel elements of Night Two pushed the atmosphere into an absolute frenzy. Roots-blues legends Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ anchored the deeper, storytelling foundations of the genre, delivering a beautiful, deeply resonant showcase of traditional acoustic chemistry that captivated the entire arena. Turning the energy all the way to eleven, pedal steel wizard Robert Randolph delivered a blistering, high-energy set that felt like a rock-and-roll revival meeting. Randolph kicked things into overdrive, flying across his fretboard with a frantic, joyous velocity that had the entire Moody Center dancing in the aisles.

Day two kept the pedal to the metal. Acoustic phenom Tommy Emmanuel blew minds with a solo percussive performance that sounded like three people playing at once, followed by the pure traditional bluegrass joy of The Del McCoury Band.

The collaborative experiments somehow got even crazier, from Marcus King pairing up with bluegrass virtuoso Sierra Hull to King later joining Joe Bonamassa for an entirely unexpected, heavy-hitting cover of Led Zeppelin’s “How Many More Times”—a moment that let Bonamassa stretch his hyper-speed blues licks into a classic rock stratosphere.

The icons of Night Two kept the energy running at a fever pitch. Roots-blues legends Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ anchored the deeper, storytelling foundations of the genre, delivering a beautiful, deeply resonant showcase of traditional acoustic chemistry that captivated the entire arena. Turning the energy all the way to eleven, pedal steel wizard Robert Randolph delivered a blistering, high-energy set that felt like a rock-and-roll revival meeting. Randolph kicked things into overdrive, flying across his fretboard with a frantic, joyous velocity that had the entire Moody Center dancing in the aisles.

The entire weekend was a marathon with performances clocking in over 14 hours of performances assuring fans definitely got their money’s worth and more (some drove from all over the country for the show and other flew in from around the world):

• Night One (Saturday): Lasted for 6.5 hours of continuous performances, blazing solos, and massive all-star jams.
• Night Two (Sunday): Stretched even longer, running for 7.5 hours before Eric Clapton and the entire ensemble finally took their final bows.

Unforgettable Re-imaginations: The Covers that Stole the Show

Beyond the original material, the weekend thrived on a stunning array of reinvented classic covers. Early on, Eric Gales, Joe Bonamassa, and Marcus King tore open a mushroom cloud of a mashup with a fiery performance of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”. On the B-stage, an acoustic caressing of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” by Daniel Santiago and Pedro Martins left the room completely hushed. Later on, Marcus King and Sierra Hull completely stripped down a hauntingly beautiful cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World”.

The new interpretations kept rolling right into the next afternoon when jazz fiend Kurt Rosenwinkel plugged in and flipped the arena upside down, delivering stunning, complex jazz-fusion renditions of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” alongside Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World”. Acoustic titan Tommy Emmanuel then brought his own extraterrestrial magic to the stage, mesmerizing the massive crowd with a breathtaking, lightning-fast Beatles medley that threaded seamless versions of “Here Comes the Sun,” “I Feel Fine,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” using nothing but a single acoustic guitar.

The Grand Finale: One Final Walk on Crossroads

To officially close out the epic weekend, Eric Clapton took center stage for his official headline finale, treating the audience to a breathtaking, masterfully structured set. He kicked things off with an aching, emotional rendition of “Tears in Heaven” that quieted the entire arena, before kicking the energy back up with the legendary blues-rock groove of “Badge” and the thunderous, classic riffs of “Layla.” But it was the final curtain-call that cemented the weekend into the history books.

For the ultimate encore, Clapton smiled and gestured to the wings, bringing out everyone from the entire two-day lineup—Mayer, Clark Jr., Anastasio, Gibbons, King, Tedeschi, Trucks, Randolph, Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’, and more, even Bill Murray shaking his maraca—to join him for a truly monumental, arena-shaking performance of “Crossroads.” With dozens of guitar legends standing shoulder-to-shoulder, swapping blistering solos and trading vocal lines, the stage became a beautiful, generation-spanning wall of sound. For two straight days, Austin was the absolute center of the musical universe, leaving thousands of fans inspired, empty-pocketed from the guitar stalls, and completely in awe of the six-string’s enduring power.

Purpose Beyond the Music: The True Heart of Crossroads

While the blazing solos and historic collaborations stole the headlines, the true soul of the weekend is anchored in a cause deeply personal to Eric Clapton. Founded by Clapton in 1998, the Crossroads Centre Antigua is a world-class residential treatment facility providing affordable, top-tier care for individuals battling chemical dependency. Sobriety saved Clapton’s life, and his enduring mission is to ensure that others—regardless of their financial background—have access to that same lifesaving beacon of recovery. Every ticket purchased and every raffle dollar raised helps fund care and scholarship programs at the facility. If you felt inspired by the magic in Austin, you can keep the healing power of the festival alive by visiting the Crossroads Centre Antigua Website to learn more and make a direct contribution.

Check out other photos from the festival and our coverage from previous festivals at Austin101Magazine.