Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013

Last spring in New York City, Eric Clapton once again assembled an unparalleled line up of the world's most celebrated guitarists for the fourth incarnation of his legendary Crossroads Guitar Festival. While the previous three festivals were all hosted in sprawling outdoor stadiums, Clapton took the festivities indoors for the first time this year to "The World's Most Famous Arena" Madison Square Garden.

Held every three years since 2004, the Crossroads Guitar Festival has quickly become the ultimate guitar-concert event, where the world's greatest players perform together to raise funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua. Clapton founded this treatment and education facility in 1998 to help people suffering from chemical dependency.

This year's shows featured performances by Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, Blake Mills, Buddy Guy, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II, Gary Clark Jr., Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Keith Richards, Keith Urban, Los Lobos, Robert Cray, Sonny Landreth, Steve Cropper, Vince Gill, Warren Haynes and more.

In addition to rousing performances of blues classics and renowned hit songs, many of the most memorable performances saw artists coming together for some stirring collaborations. Among the highlights were the surprise pairing of John Mayer and Keith Urban for the Beatles' Don't Let Me Down, Vince Gill and Clapton taking on Lay Down Sally, Keb Mo and Taj Mahal covering the Sleepy John Estes' song, Diving Duck Blues, Gill performing Tumbling Dice with Urban and Albert Lee and members of the Allman Brothers – Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks – joined forces for a haunting acoustic cover of Neil Young's The Needle and the Damage Done.

As you would expect, Clapton features prominently throughout the show, including with his own band for Tears In Heaven. The legendary guitarist also tore through the Derek and the Dominos' classic Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad with the Allman Brothers Band, revisiting the time in 2009 when he joined the band during their annual residency at the Beacon Theater in New York.

For the first time ever, audio highlights from the festival will also be released on CD!