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Reunited Arc Angels to open some Eric Clapton shows
Reunited blues-rockers Arc Angels will provide opening support on Eric Clapton 's upcoming tour of Great Britain and Ireland, the guitar legend has announced.
The band--consisting Charlie Sexton, Doyle Bramhall II and Chris Layton--will open for Clapton during the four-city trek, which includes an 11-night engagement at London's Royal Albert Hall beginning May 16. The British Isles appearances come a few weeks before Clapton kicks off a co-headlining US tour with former bandmate Steve Winwood.
Austin, TX-based Arc Angels originally formed in the early '90s, featuring two members of the late Stevie Ray Vaughn's band, Double Trouble, in drummer Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon. The group released a self-titled debut album in 1992, making its network television debut on NBC's "Late Night with David Letterman" show, before breaking up the following year. The band--including Shannon, who will be sitting out the UK shows--has reunited several times in the past for one-off appearances.
"Charlie and I started to write together again and decided that we should get the band back together. The chemistry that we all have together is one entity and it's something very real. It's fun," said Bramhall--a longtime member of Clapton's touring band--in a press statement.
"We're trying to take advantage and savor the good things and one of the good things is the Arc Angels," added Sexton.
Meanwhile, Clapton will kick off his stateside co-headlining tour with Winwood in June, a 14-city outing that launches June 10 in East Rutherford, NJ.
The two former Blind Faith members hooked up for three New York City shows in February last year after Winwood had joined Clapton during his summer 2007 set at Chicago's Crossroads Guitar Festival, where the two performed a few tunes from Winwood's old band Traffic.
