photo from John Lappen

Blues/rock guitarist Johnny Winter will perform with his band on Sunday, March 3, at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick. From left are bassist Scott Spray, Winter, guitarist Paul Nelson and drummer Tommy Curiale.

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The Campbell Brothers, who play steel guitar, will open for Johnny Winter and his band on Sunday, March 3, at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick. From left rear are Carlton Campbell, Phillip Campbell and Malcolm Kirby. In the middle from left are Tiffany Godette and Denise Brown. Seated in front at the steel guitars from left are Chuck Campbell and Darrick Campbell.
photo from Folklore Productions

Blues/rock guitarist Johnny Winter will perform with his band on Sunday, March 3, at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick. From left are bassist Scott Spray, Winter, guitarist Paul Nelson and drummer Tommy Curiale.

photo from John Lappen

 

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Blues/rock guitarist Johnny Winter decided to learn the guitar as a teenager after hearing Chuck Berry on the radio in Texas in the 1950s.

“I knew I had to do that,” said Winter, who will be performing with his band on Sunday, March 3, at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick.

Opening for them will be the Campbell Brothers, who sing African-American gospel music accompanied by electric steel guitars.

Winter was raised in the oil town of Beaumont near Port Arthur, where Janis Joplin was growing up at the same time.

“My father was a singer and a banjo player, and my mother played the piano,” said Winter, who formed his first band at 14 with his brother, Edgar, on piano.

In the late 1960s, “Rolling Stone” included him in a story about the Texas music scene.

“That made me national,” he said.

Winter said he’ll be playing Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” along with songs made famous by the Rolling Stones — “It’s All Over Now” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”

Also on the list is “Got My MoJo Workin” popularized by blues legend Muddy Waters.

A songwriter and producer, Winter produced and played on four albums with Waters in the late 1970s.

Winters’ latest album, “Roots,” includes “Mojo” and also “Dust My Broom,” originally recorded by Robert Johnson.

The album is a tribute to some of the great blues musicians that Winter has known and been influenced by.

“Roots” was recorded with guest artists that include Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, among others.

Winter is also working on “Roots II,” another album honoring the blues greats that he expects to release in about six months.

Just back from touring in Florida, Winter said many of his fans tend to be over the age of 50, but that kids are also very appreciative.

Among today’s younger rock and blues bands, the Black Keys from Ohio stand out, he said.

“I like the Black Keys — they’re good,” said Winter about the band that won Best Rock Album for “El Camino” at the Grammys on Feb. 10.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based Campbell Brothers are known for “sacred steel,” a mix of gospel and electric blues and rock that grew out of music the family played in church.

“We’re just going to come out and have a good time,” Winter said.

vterhune@gazette.net