“I’m an electric guitar player,” says Sonny Landreth. “I suck at playing acoustic. I can play it around the house or record it in the studio, but on a gig in the heat of battle—it’s just a different angle.”
Landreth exudes Southern humility, and a Stratocaster through a cranked Dumble or Demeter may forever be his hallmark, but he certainly does not suck on acoustic. Sonny is one of the top electric solidbody slide cats on the planet, and he doesn’t change his technique too dramatically to play acoustic. Tonally, he’s in a different universe. Landreth’s electric hurricane can range from a whisper to a category 5, and he’s a master of utilizing sustain to help facilitate a slew of original tricks and licks that have boggled minds for decades—many of which are based on slide bar harmonics and fingering behind the slide. Pulling that off on an acoustic, however, is a different story, so Landreth has enlisted a unique instrument to help him tackle the challenge.
GP caught a glimpse in May at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, where he opened with an acoustic mini-set. Landreth played a cool metallic-blue resonator that caught everyone’s ears and eyes. As it turns out, he’d cut a half-acoustic, half-electric double disc in January at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in his hometown of Lafayette, Lousiana.
Recorded Live in Lafayette [Mascot/Provogue] dropped on June 30th, and it’s an epic, career-spanning journey. Disc one offers more insight into Sonny’s acoustic side than any previous release. His core power trio of David Ranson and Brian Brignac get in on the fun, switching to ukulele bass and cajón, respectively. They’re joined by Steve Conn’s accordion and Sam Broussard playing the hell out of a parlor-sized Martin. Landreth’s slide tone