If you're a fan of slide guitar, make sure you get down to the Rio Theatre this Saturday.

That's when Louisiana guitarist Sonny Landreth--Eric Clapton's favourite slide player--will be holding court on the bluesy beauty of the bottleneck.

Landreth discovered his love of slide as a teen and over the years developed a Chet Atkins–inspired fingerstyle technique that allows him to seamlessly fuse the bluesy spirit of the Delta with the Cajun stylings of his home state. As a youngster honing his craft, Landreth used metal slides before switching to the glass ones synonymous with his liquid, otherworldly tone. 

“I had a friend with a motorcycle shop,” he explained to me several years back, “so I went over and got a pair of handlebars, got a hacksaw out, and started making a lifetime supply of slides. Then a coupla years later I started using glass, and just kinda fell in love with that.”

Landreth's talent on slide guitar has led to a B.C. connection that goes back decades. In 1990 his playing was featured on the self-titled debut album by Courtenay-raised pop artist Sue Medley, which went gold and helped her win a Juno Award. More recently he hooked up with Vancouver-bred roots great Steve Dawson, who hosted Landreth's show at the now-defunct Electric Owl six years ago. The two first met when they were booked to lead a workshop at the 2010 Winnipeg Folk Festival.

“We had such a chemistry,” Landreth told me back in 2013, “and I was really admiring his musicianship. He’s an extraordinary player, and I think the fact that we clicked so well there left a spark that led to the idea of doing this show.”

This time around Landreth will be sharing the stage with opening act Robert Connely Farr, the Vancouver-based, Mississippi ex-pat whose latest album, Dirty South Blues, made my Top 10 last year. He'll be showcasing tunes from his upcoming release Cadillac Problems, so get there early enough to check him out as well. It's gonna be a serious "sounds of the South" night, people.