[Cover photo credit to Larry Philpot]
It’s been thirty years since, as a teen from Shreveport, Louisiana, Kenny Wayne Shepherd helped shine a light on Blues music in the mainstream with his album Ledbetter Heights. Now the platinum-selling, six-time Grammy-nominated guitarist has released Ledbetter Heights (The 30th Anniversary Sessions).
The newly recorded collection revisits Shepherd’s landmark 1995 debut in full, following a series of singles released in recent weeks including “Deja Voodoo,” “One Foot on the Path,” and now “Born With A Broken Heart,” each providing a look at the project’s updated sound and perspective.
Signed by Irving Azoff at just 16 years old, Shepherd recorded Ledbetter Heights while still in high school, splitting his time between classes in Louisiana and sessions in Memphis. Now, three decades later, he returns to that material.
He explains:
This is the album that put me on the map, and I still enjoy listening to it because my goal has always been to make music I want to listen to. Unfiltered and straight from the heart.
A key presence on the project is longtime collaborator and legendary drummer Chris “Whipper” Layton, a founding member of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, who has played alongside Shepherd since the original Ledbetter Heights sessions.
The album was co-produced with Jerry Harrison, whose history with Shepherd spans multiple records including Trouble Is… and its 25th anniversary re-recording.
In another full-circle detail, Shepherd returned to his original 1995 rig for the sessions, using the same sonic palette that first introduced him to audiences.
Shepherd is currently in the midst of his Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour, where he and his band are performing the album in full for the first time, alongside a second set spanning his three-decade career. It has an extensive run of dates across the U.S. and continues internationally through the Fall.
Shepherd adds:
Before I could identify with the lyrics, I always could identify with the feeling of the blues. When you pour your heart out, everyone can feel that.
Ledbetter Heights (The 30th Anniversary Sessions)
1. Born with a Broken Heart
2. Deja Voodoo
3. Aberdeen
4. Shame, Shame, Shame
5. One Foot on the Path
6. Everybody Gets the Blues
7. While We Cry (Live)
8. I’m Leaving You (Commit a Crime)
9. (Let Me Up) I’ve Had Enough
10. Riverside
11. What’s Goin’ Down
12. Ledbetter Heights
2026 Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour
Saturday, June 13th – Paradise Theater @ Margaritaville Resort Casino – Bossier City, LA
Sunday, June 14th – The Buddy Holly Theatre – Lubbock, TX
Wednesday, June 17th – Kiva Auditorium – Albuquerque, NM
Thursday, June 18th – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ
Friday, June 19th – Celebrity Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
Saturday, June 20th – Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts – Cerritos, CA
Sunday, June 21st – Oxnard Performing Arts Center – Oxnard, CA
Tuesday, June 23rd – California Center for the Arts – Escondido, CA
Thursday, June 25th – Capitol Theatre – Salt Lake City, UT
Saturday, June 27th – Blues From The Top Music Festival – Winter Park, CO
Sunday, July 26th – Open Air Blues Festival – Brezoi, Romania
Tuesday, July 28th – Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour – Helsinki, Finland
Thursday, July 30th – Notodden Blues Festival – Notodden, Norway
Saturday, August 1st – Megeve Blues Festival – Megeve, France
Thursday, September 10th – Big Blues Bender – Las Vegas, NV
Friday, September 11th – Sunset Center – Carmel, CA
Saturday, September 12th – Blue Note Summer Sessions – Napa, CA
Sunday, September 13th – Center for the Arts – Grass Valley, CA
Tuesday, September 15th – McDonald Theatre – Eugene, OR
Wednesday, September 16th – Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA
Thursday, September 17th – First Interstate Center for the Arts – Spokane, WA
Friday, September 18th – Alberta Bair Theater – Billings, MT
Saturday, September 19th – Deadwood, SD – Deadwood Jam
Wednesday, September 30th – Sandler Center for the Performing Arts – Virginia Beach, VA
Friday, October 2nd – State Theatre New Jersey – New Brunswick, NJ
Saturday, October 3rd – Grand Opera House – Wilmington, DE
Sunday, October 4th – Appell Center for the Performing Arts – York, PA
Wednesday, October 7th – Carolina Theatre – Durham, NC
Thursday, October 8th – Tennessee Theatre – Knoxville, TN
Friday, October 9th – Lexington Opera House – Lexington, KY
Saturday, October 10th – Paramount Bristol – Bristol, TN
Sunday, October 11th – Knight Theater – Charlotte, NC
Wednesday, October 14th – Ann Arbor ,MI – Michigan Theater
Thursday, October 15th – Des Plaines, IL – Des Plaines Theatre
Friday, October 16th – New Buffalo, MI – Four Winds Casino
Saturday, October 17th – Mystic Lake – Prior Lake, MN
October 31st – November 7th – The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise – San Diego, CA
Friday, November 20th – Riverside Casino & Golf Resort – Riverside, IA
