Walter Trout was walking on Beale street in Memphis when he ran into a friend, the blues singer Teeny Tucker. She told him that she had just lost her son. She said her heart was crying, but she was all out of tears. Trout suggested they put that line into a song. So, they went ahead and wrote “All Out Of Tears” in 15 minutes. The song would go on to win the 2020 Blues Music Award for Song of the Year. On this evening, Trout is really feeling this song and the audience can really feel the full emotion of this track. This is what the blues is known for, expressing great sorrow.

Trout had been playing regularly at a bar and knew this one guy who kept coming in to see his crush, a bartendress. Eventually, they went out a few times. But then, she dumped him. He came balling his eyes out to Walter who wrote “Gotta Broken Heart” for him. It’s a rocker that surely helped him heal his woes.

For eight months, Walter Trout was dying of a liver disease.  He lay on a bed and lost 120 pounds and suffered some brain damage. In just the nick of time, they found an organ donor and he received a liver transplant. Afterwards, although he physically recovered, because of the brain damage he had to relearn how to speak, how to walk, and then how to play guitar. After a year of recovery, he was finally ready to play his first show back, at Royal Albert Hall! Tonight he sings the first track off his latest album about this experience, “Almost Gone”. Once again, Trout’s guitar playing expertly portrays the feeling of this experience.

The show ended pretty abruptly after just one hour. They had to stop in order to clear out before the next show starting at 9pm. For a show without an opener, only playing for one hour is very short. The audience is left feeling a bit unsatisfied. They really should play at least 90 minutes or include an opener.

Despite the shortness of the set, it was still a great show. Walter Trout is a master guitar player and an expert storyteller. Catch him on tour now!

Quinn Delaney