Great concert
by Charlene on 5/5/25Uptown Theatre Napa - NapaRating: 5 out of 5Robert Cray is one of the best! Only negative would be the bass was to loud… Venue was great…staff helpful and friendly….

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The Robert Cray Band in Concert
When it comes to live performance, The Robert Cray Band like to get right down to business. Though they're led by one of the most distinctive blues guitar stylists of his generation, and the rest of the band bears a similar amount of instrumental authority, they don't like to showboat. Flashy licks are simply not what Cray and company are all about.
Instead, they cut right through to the emotional core of every tune — whether they're playing the classics that put Cray on the map, like "Right Next Door" and "Smoking Gun," or killing it on covers of tunes by the likes of Bill Withers, Bobby "Blue" Bland, or The Mississippi Sheiks. Cray and his cohorts use their mighty musical prowess in the service of the song. Sure, you'll hear plenty of fluid guitar solos, but at a Robert Cray show you'll never hear a single unnecessary note — in other words, everything he and his band play on stage really matters.
The Robert Cray Band Background
Robert Cray did more for the blues in the 1980s than anybody other than Stevie Ray Vaughan. He started out small with a string of early-'80s indie albums, but by the middle of the decade the singer/guitarist's blend of blues, soul, and rock 'n' roll influences made its way to the mainstream with a major-label deal that introduced the world to the game-changing Strong Persuader LP.
Between his supple grooves, soulful vocals, storytelling songs, and stinging guitar solos, Cray emerged as the blues hero the '80s didn't even know they were waiting for until he came along. Over time, Cray's sound has become simultaneously deeper and more expansive. His reputation has grown to the point that he's an esteemed elder statesman of modern blues, a winner of multiple Grammy awards, and an artist as venerated today as any of his heroes were when he was growing up and learning his licks.
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Robert Cray is one of the best! Only negative would be the bass was to loud… Venue was great…staff helpful and friendly….
The Robert Cray Band was really delivering an amazing concert. My only issue was: we had to wait for exactly one hour until they finally appeared on stage. They could have at least apologized for being so late. The audience was more on the older side and some people had to leave early.
The Robert Cray Band put on an excellent show performing 13 songs in the set plus a pair of encores. Cray included two of the big hits from the 1986 breakout album "Strong Persuader,"several newer songs including the show opener Anything You Want from the 2020 album "That's What I Heard"plus a pair from the 2017 release Cray put out with Steve Jordan and the Hi Rhythm Section. Cray took us back to the early days with three cuts off the 1983 release "Bad Influence"including the title track and Phone Booth as one of the two encores, the other being This Man from the 2020 release. One of the evenings highlights was when they performed the blues standard Sittin' On Top of the World, penned by and first recorded in 1930 by the Mississippi Sheiks. Often covered, Howlin' Wolf in particular did a couple of stellar versions and Cream included a blues rock version on their live album "Wheels of Fire."The band appeared to be all having a fun time performing, Cray was in good form, in good voice and with witty asides. Ayron Jones opened playing a rousing solo acoustic showing clearly that he is a man to keep on your radar. The venue had its good and bad points. It is located in the Tulalip Casino Complex so you must deal with the casino vibe. There isn't a fixed seating configuration in the 1200 seat room, so they just place out chairs. They were reasonably comfortable; but were packed a bit close together, no arm rests, cup holders or tables of any kind. There were several large video screens with excellent clarity, so you could . watch close ups, or if your view to the stage was blocked. The video was done very well, with several cameras. Overall, it was a fun night by one of the great artists of our time featuring 15 selections off of nine of Cray's 19 studio release to date.
I last saw Robert Cray maybe 15 years ago. I sort of figured his voice would be “older,” but in a cool way like some other aging blues men out there. Nope. He still sounds like he did in the ‘80s: smooth as silk. He clearly still loves being onstage, and his guitar chops are still flawless. Witty and sardonic lyrics, classic blues showmanship, and that voice. My gawd, that voice. What a rare treat. The band was great and provided the perfect foil for Robert. They knew when to be tight and when to be loose. If anyone on that stage wasn’t having a great night, they hid it well. I don’t plan to wait 15 more years to catch these masters again.
Robert Cray is all that and a whole lot more. Top notch vocals and guitar work like none other. If you have not ever seen him. Do it. If you have, go see him again.
Robert Cray is an incredible musician . And he continues to wow the audience. He never disappoints. However, the venue was very underwhelming. Having a concert in a ballroom setting is really below par. Also, the sound system was turned up higher than necessary, blowing out all the ears of the mostly senior crowd. Overall, Robert Craig was a success.
Good view seats and Cray Band was excellent and tight. Robert talked and kidded with the audience.
Robert is like a fine wine! Gets better with age! He seemed pretty layed back this concert! Seemed good to see him enjoy his work and the crowd. Richard Cousins was awesome, as always. Great band. They really work together well. See you guys next time around!
We've seen the band before at a bigger venue. It was great then but this was even better since it was smaller and more intimate. It was a fantastic show and we enjoyed it very much!
Robert Cray hasn’t aged a bit he’s still a great guitar player along with that beautiful voice
Enjoyed the show. One complaint: It was very difficult to hear Robert when he was walking around on the stage. He should have been miked better at those times.
Really good show & Robert still can play those Strats. The band was also some great musicians. Keep up the good work guys!!!. Hope to hear ya again soon. Thanks
Show started right on time and ran a couple minutes over. Great catalog of music to choose from and did not disappoint. Mr Robert Cray’s voice has not changed since the last time I heard it in ‘89.
Robert Cray is amazing as is his band. It is obvious that they love what they are doing and appreciative of the audience. Cray is an amazing guitarist. His band is outstanding. Loved the concert!
Rob cray never sounded better - great show all around - would recommend him to all types of music lovers
Definitely a must see show. A row seats center stage. Nice to have an intimate encounter at a concert where the artists could interact with the fans.
I had never seen Robert Cray perform before and was blown away by his performance and that of this band. Robert Cray is just a tremendous guitarist and performer. His band was incredibly tight with great musicianship throughout. I would certainly go and see him again and again! The Pantages was beautiful and a great venue. We were on the main floor, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed the show no matter where I sat. I thought the acoustics were really good. Easy parking nearby as well.
Robert Cray started promptly at 7:30pm. no opening act. He quickly delved into his catalog singing 1-2 songs from most. Sang/played just shy of 2 hours with a very short break towards the end. He is entertaining with some commentary, jokes and talking between songs. The crowd really enjoyed him. Older crowd now - 40ish being on the young side. My 4th time seeing him and he never fails to put on a good show and entertain the crowd. Glad I saw him. Stuck around after the show and one of the guys breaking down the set tossed me a guitar pick - thought that was pretty cool.
An affordable ticket (finally!) for a great show. Venue was nice & clean. Accommodations (bathrooms) were spacious, could handle a rush and were clean and functional. Some scary people walking around the area outside - not going to lie, I kept my head down and stared at the ground. Went to Parlay for pre drinks and food. This was very nice - good food and drinks. Drinks in the venue were outrageous - was disappointed to have the person tell me no Military discount. Sad. Ticket Master portion was smooth as well - in minutes I had my ticket downloaded and in my wallet - that's nice when that works easily. Plenty of parking nearby but, once again, it was pricey. I found a spot nearbuy for $20 but that couldve been due to the Timberwolves game going on.
Robert Cray was as good as I’ve ever seen him! His voice as clear as a bell and if he’s not one of the top 2-3 guitar players alive in the world today I don’t know who is..? It was a great show and he had the crowd laughing several times with some rye..sly jokes. Don’t be a stranger in Minny !