For most fans, their introduction to Kenny Wayne Shepherd came with his breakout debut album, Ledbetter Heights. When it was released in 1995, Kenny was just 18 years old. Alongside fellow guitar prodigy Jonny Lang, he helped remind the rock world what it had been missing: guitar-driven music rooted in the blues but infused with a contemporary edge that gave it broad appeal. Ledbetter Heights went platinum in less than a year, and songs from that record have remained staples of Kenny’s live shows ever since. The album also earned him the number three spot on Guitar World’s list of top blues artists, just behind B.B. King and Eric Clapton.
Now, nearly three decades later, Kenny is gearing up to celebrate the 30th anniversary of that landmark debut with a national tour launching February 19, 2026. He’s also returned to the studio to revisit Ledbetter Heights, re-recording the album with a fresh perspective – and, for the first time, with longtime vocalist Noah Hunt handling lead vocals. The result promises to be a powerful reimagining that fans will eagerly embrace.
The Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour will feature two full sets each night: one devoted to the album performed in its entirety, and another spanning highlights from Shepherd’s remarkable 30-year career – a journey that has seen him share stages with legends like Bob Dylan, Van Halen, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
We caught up with Kenny to talk about the enduring significance of Ledbetter Heights, his new take on these classic songs, what fans can expect from the upcoming tour, and what might be next once the candles are blown out on this milestone celebration.
Ray Chelstowski: Is there any one lesson that you learned in recording this album that you’ve applied in your studio sessions since?
Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Well, when we first recorded this album [a lot] of [today’s] digital recording technology hadn’t been invented yet. [we didn’t have any] computers or ProTools or any of that stuff. This album was made in a traditional way, recorded to tape with people actually playing music together. This wasn’t people e-mailing parts to each other, adding them to songs without being in the same room together.
As the technology has evolved, I’ve pretty much maintained that traditional approach to recording. I really think that there’s a tangible difference in the sound of the music when you have human beings, in a room together, playing music at the same time, instead of layering one guy playing drums in New York and another playing bass in California. It might be less efficient and cost more money my way but that’s how I started making records and continue to do this day.
RC: You revisited the record in the studio. What changes did you make?
KWS: It’s a brand new version of the record. Thankfully I haven’t made any records that I’m embarrassed by or that had songs I thought were big mistakes. So, I’m not trying to re-write history. But there’s a song called “Riverside” that I sang on my first record. I always thought it was too fast and could be more “vibey.” So we slowed it down and treated it in a different fashion. “Born With A Broken Heart” is another one. I thought the tempo was also a little fast; it also has a fade on the original record. We actually put a real ending on it here.
Probably the biggest difference is that Noah Hunt is singing all of the songs on the new version except “Riverside.” Noah didn’t join the band until my second record, Trouble Is. Corey Sterling was the lead singer of the band at that time. So that will be the most noticeable difference. But I have had a lot of fans over the years wonder what Ledbetter Heights would have sounded like if Noah had been the singer at that time. Now they’ll get their chance to hear it.
RC: Is there any one song from the record you haven’t played live or haven’t in years?
KWS: There are several. I can’t remember the last time we played “Everybody Gets The Blues.” For this tour we are going to be playing every song off of this record. It’s the first time we have ever done that. We didn’t even do that when the album was new.
Re-recording the album actually helped us get reacquainted with all of the parts of this music. It helped prepare us for the tour.
We did the 25th anniversary for my second album Trouble Is a few years ago and did a similar thing, and the fans just really got excited about it and most of the shows were sold out. I can tell you already that for some of the dates where tickets are available, half of the house has already been sold, and the tour doesn’t start until February. So they are excited about it, which is great, because this album is where many people heard about me for the first time. It was my introduction to the world.
RC: This is a jam-packed tour. Are you playing any of the places where you first toured this record?
KWS: Not necessarily, because thankfully the success of these albums and our fan base have helped us really grow. It might actually be difficult to go back to some of the [previous] venues, if they even still exist. But I’m sure we hit many of these same cities on that initial tour.
RC: You have Eric Johnson and Jimmie Vaughan on the bill for a few dates. They have a very specific audience and that seems to lean male.
KWS: I did some shows with Jimmie on my very first tour, so there’s a connection there. And it’s the same with Eric, as part of the early days of the G3 tour. Actually though, for the genre of music that we are part of which is very guitar-heavy, we have a very balanced audience. I don’t know if that’s husbands bringing their wives, but they show up for us and that’s good.
RC: Is there any special merchandise you are creating for the tour?
KWS: Yes. There will be the 30th anniversary of the record on vinyl and CD. We have a bunch of other items; everything you’d expect from any touring band.
RC: You mentioned that you are currently in your studio. Are you working on anything new?
KWS: Well, just last week we had some writing sessions for some future studio albums, but I’ve been working every day for the past several weeks on a rock and roll covers album. We started work on it a few years back and we kind of sat on it for a while because I was busy with like four other albums at the time. So now we are working on finishing this up and it will come out after next year’s tour wraps. We love to rock and I think we can rock with the best of them. We chose some interesting songs, and I don’t know if every song is going to make the record because we always record more than we need. My goal was to pick artists I appreciate, grew up listening to, and who inspired me. But I also wanted to include some head scratchers that [will] surprise fans but leave them thinking they just heard something really great.
Header image courtesy of Larry Philpot.
