Guitar Lifestyle reader Darren M. recently alerted me to this video of Sonny Landreth and Eric Clapton playing “Promise Land” at the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago.

This is a preview of the upcoming Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD, which will be released on November 9, 2010.

Eric Clapton is one of my favorite guitarists. He has been for almost as long as I’ve been playing. Most guitarists I know feel the same way. However, I wonder if non-guitarists feel the same way?

Several years ago, I was driving a younger relative around in my car, and I was playing a Clapton CD. When he asked what I was playing, he looked incredulous when I told him it was Clapton. The feeling I got was that he was thinking, “Who still listens to Clapton?”

I wonder if this is a sentiment shared by most younger non-guitarists. Even though Clapton helped shape rock music and holds a significant place in musical history, has he done anything over the past few years, or even the past decade or so, that speaks to the next generation of musicians. Or, is he just a piece of musical history.

In my opinion, Eric Clapton is definitely still relevant. But, my opinion is and always will be clouded by the fact that his music (past and present) has had such an impact on me and my playing. If I didn’t play guitar, I’m not sure I’d feel the same way.

What do you think? Is Eric Clapton still relevant to the next generation of fans?

I was browsing the Gear Page forums the other day, and one of the users linked to a YouTube video of Eric Clapton during the Cream days explaining his guitar technique. At about five minutes, it’s a fairly short clip, but Clapton does offer some insight into his playing, including how he gets his famous “woman tone” on his Gibson SG. Check out the clip below: