photo credit: Chris Marden

Eric Clapton descended upon Royal Albert Hall in London on Saturday night, the guitar legend welcomed opener Andy Fairweather Low for the handful of acoustic songs midway through the concert. The show also featured a handful of live debuts and bust-outs of rarities last performed in the ‘90s.  

Clapton’s first set was an all-electric display. For the guitar prodigy’s initial song of the night, he debuted a cover of Gary Brooker’s “Lead Me to the Water,” and followed with another cover, this time Charles Segar’s “Key to the Highway.” The first set continued with a pair of busts out, the first “Pilgram,” was last played on Oct. 9, 1997 at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea. The second “River of Tears,” was performed on March 30, 1998, at St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minn. Then, Clapton covered The Wailers’ “I Shot the Sheriff” before concluding the first set with a homage to his days in Cream, with their 1968 hit “White Room.” 

Next, the guitarist launched into an acoustic set and welcomed Low to the stage for a live debut of 2021’s “Heart of a Child.” Low stuck around for a cover of Jimmy Cox’s “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” and Charlie Chaplins’ “Smile.” Then, Clapton and his guest delivered “Layla” ahead of a soulful take on “Tears in Heaven.” 

For the next set of tunes, Clapton returned to his electric instrument to take on Cream’s “Badge” followed by his greatest hit, “Wonderful Tonight.” Next up, he performed two Robert Johnson covers in honor of the legend’s birthday, beginning with “Cross Road Blues,” and jumping into “Little Queen of Spades.” Notably, Clapton released a Johnson covers album in 2004. Then, Clapton touched on his Derek and the Dominos roots once more, by returning to “Layla” with an electric twist to close out the set. For his encore, the guitarist took on Joe Cocker’s “High Time We Went.” 

Eric Clapton 

Royal Albert Hall– London, England 

May 7, 2022 

Set I: Lead Me to the Water, Key to the Highway, Pilgrim, River of Tears, I Shot the Sheriff, White Room

Set II: Heart of a Child*, Nobody Knows You When Your Down and Out*, Smile*, Layla,* Tears in Heaven

Set III: Badge, Wonderful Tonight, Coss Road Blues, Little Queen of Spades, Layla 

Enc.: High Time We Went 

Notes:

* with Andy Fairweather Low

Setlist via Setlist.fm