With the roar of Harley-Davidson motorcycles all around him, blues icon Kenny Wayne Shepherd started a weekend of Harley Homecoming festivities at the Harley-Davidson Museum on Thursday night. A glance at the rocker patches throughout the crowd of bikers could tell you that people are converging from all over the country to be in Milwaukee this weekend, and a 90-minute set of roadhouse blues started the party in style.
The campus of the Harley-Davidson Museum felt like a full-fledged rally, with bikes lining up and down 6th Street, and custom bikes on display, revving their engines and turning up their radios sporadically throughout the night. Under the cover of the Rockford Fosgate main stage, though, Shepherd was the life of the party, met with cheers before the house lights even turned on. With a guitar on his shoulder and a Harley-Davidson bike on the side of the stage, it felt like Shepherd was in his element, touting material from his extended discography, which he noted now spans over three decades.
It didn’t take long for the blues rocker to bust out an impressive display of guitar slinging, either. Opener “Was” shook the rust off and loosened up the crowd, but technical solos on “Sweet & Low” and the title track from 2023’s “Dirt On My Diamonds” showed you what Shepherd can do at any given point of the night. He would showcase that again on a cover of B.B. King’s “You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now,” which was the first solo that brought the action around the covered stage to a stand-still to observe his technicality as a musician. That would happen multiple times throughout the night, with everyone in his band getting a chance to shine.
Flanked by a horn section, organs, and a tight rhythm section that included vocalist Noah Hunt on tambourine at times, Shepherd could sit in the pocket when the situation called for it, and pick and choose his spots to take the reigns as the lead throughout the set. Hunt and Shepherd would trade vocal duties, with Hunt often being instrument-free, giving him a chance to work the crowd. It was clear that any of the musicians on stage had the capability to steal the show at any point, but when they all hit a stride together, it was a world-class blues experience.
The main set closed on an extended jam, which incorporated an instrumental take on Pearl Jam’s “Yellow Ledbetter” that once again stopped the crowd in their tracks. While a blues purist at heart, Shepherd showed plenty of rock and roll influence, with the cover fully embracing that side of things while once again showcasing the band’s capabilities. A quick pause was immediately followed by an encore, featuring hit “Blue On Black” to close things out, sending a pack of Harleys rolling off into the night.
While the rest of this weekend’s music at Harley Homecoming may cater to a different crowd, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his band fired things up with class on Thursday. It was a set that felt like it could soundtrack the roots of Harley-Davidson as a brand, and a perfect pick for the Harley-Davidson Museum to start the weekend.
Don’t forget to follow for more from Harley Homecoming all weekend long, and if you’re heading to Veterans Park, the Harley-Davidson Museum, Davidson Park and more, we’ve got your guide to Harley Homecoming with everything you need to know as well.
