Jimmie Vaughan & The Tilt-A-Whirl Band to Play Bridge Street Live, 5/11

Jimmie Vaughan & The Tilt-A-Whirl Band at Bridge Street Live is set for Sunday, May 11th, 2014 at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $55 GA, $75 VIP, and available at http://41bridgestreet.inticketing.com/events/jimmievaughan_2014_BridgeStreetLive.

Jimmie Vaughan is far more than just one of the greatest and most respected guitarists in the world of popular music. As Guitar Player Magazine notes, "He is a virtual deity-a living legend." After all, Vaughan provides a vital link between contemporary music and its proud heritage, as well as being a longtime avatar of retro cool.

Since releasing his first solo album in 1994, he has set the standard for quality modern roots music. Throughout his career, Vaughan has earned the esteem of his legendary guitar-playing heroes and superstar peers along with successive generations of young players. His musical ethos and personal style have had an impact on contemporary culture, from spearheading the current blues revival with The Fabulous Thunderbirds to his longtime, innate fashion sense of slicked-back hair and sharp vintage threads (now seen throughout the pages of contemporary fashion journals) to becoming a premier designer of classic custom cars. But for Jimmie Vaughan, none of it is part of a crusade or a career plan. It's just his natural way of living his life and pursuing the interests that have captivated Vaughan since his youth.

Jimmie Vaughan's style as a player, songwriter and bandleader can be thought of as an amalgamation of so many influences. Known for his deceptively simple yet complex attack, his clean, uncluttered style capitalizes on conveying the emotion and message within the music, He utilizes raw emotion, simplicity, and an elegance that is powerful and accessible, yet communicates exactly what he feels inside. It's an approach that has earned him the respect of many of the greats of contemporary music, and guest appearances on such albums as B.B. King and Eric Clapton's Riding With The King, Bob Dylan's Under The Red Sky, Willie Nelson's Milk Cow Blues, Carlos Santana's Havana Moon and Don Henley's Inside Job.

And in the same fashion that Vaughan revitalizes the classic blues and soul that informs his music, he has also become one of the foremost designers of classic custom cars. "I don't play golf. So cars are my hobby," he says with a chuckle. "I was into cars as soon as I was old enough to walk. I built lots of models when I was a teenager. It's not like transportation. It's art you can drive to the store." His first custom restored hot rod is a 1951 Chevy Fleetline that's become a well-known sight on the streets of Austin, TX over the years. He then augmented his collection with a 1963 Buick Riviera, and a 1961 Cadillac Coupe DeVille that took First Place at the 1999 Sacramento Autorama and Second Place at the 50th Annual Grand National Roadster show, and is currently on display at the Peterson Car Museum in Los Angeles. Vaughan is credited by his pal Eric Clapton with inspiring him to begin collecting and restoring classic roadsters as well.

Yet for all his accomplishments and the admiration he has earned, Jimmie Vaughan remains modest when it comes to his life and work. "I'm just trying to have fun like everyone else," he concludes. "I've been playing since I was 13. I play every day. I've never stopped. I can't imagine that I could exist without it."