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Shepherd revisits … ‘Trouble’-some … past on tour

"Trouble Is ..." was anything but for Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

The dreaded second album -- a pitfall for so many musicians -- cemented the young guitar player's status as one of the blues' most successful artists, and one with crossover appeal to rock fans.

The album topped Billboard's blues chart, the single "Blue on Black" topped Billboard's mainstream rock chart and spawned three other rock singles ( "Slow Ride," "Somehow, Somewhere, Someway" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Everything Is Broken") on its way to selling more than a million copies.

Shepherd and his band have big plans for celebrating the 25th anniversary of that album, including some musical and film components he said he can't talk about just yet.

But the band also will be showcasing the album Shepherd described as, "Not only a monumental album for us but for the genre," on a tour that includes a concert Wednesday at Warren's Robins Theatre.

The band is playing deep cuts from the album that haven't been regulars in the set list for decades and trying to recapture the original feel of the hits, which have a tendency to change after years of being played live.

"We wanted to authentically recreate the original sounds for the record, try to recreate that live, the minute details of everybody's parts" Shepherd said during a telephone interview. "'Blue on Black' had morphed and evolved and in some ways gotten further away from what it originally was. We pressed the reset button on that song, and we tried to decide which ones we needed to be really authentic with what was represented on the album and the songs we could take creative liberties with."

The response from the early dates on the tour has been encouraging.

"The general consensus, everyone I've been talking to, is that album could be released today," Shepherd said. "That's always my goal, to make timeless music."

One "Trouble Is ..." song that's taken on a very different meaning for Shepherd is "I Found Love (When I Found You)."

"I wrote that when I was 18 years old," he said. "Back then, I hadn't found the love of my life. I was thinking of a way to tell a girl, another person that I never knew true love until I met you. Now when I play that song, all I can think of is my wife. So many over the years have written me or told me, 'That was our wedding song' or 'I walked down the aisle to this song.'"

Shepherd had plenty of time to spend with his wife and their six children when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down his touring plans. Instead of spending time on the road with his band, Shepherd hit the road with his family, taking a trip to the Grand Canyon and camping in Sedona.

"This is the most consistent amount of time I've had at home since I started my music career," he said. "My wife and I decided to take the opportunity to make lifelong memories."

Shepherd had two albums' worth of new music recorded when the pandemic started, but fans probably will have to wait a while longer to hear them. Shepherd said it didn't make sense to him to release new music when he couldn't tour in support of it. And with 25th anniversary releases for "Trouble Is ..." planned, that likely will push the new music to 2023.

Shepherd can be heard adding his guitar wizardry to a cover of the Eurythmics' "Missionary Man" recorded by Ann Wilson of Heart and released last month in advance of her upcoming album.

"My music attorney is also her music attorney, but he has a creative mind and loves to think of artists who would work well together," Shepherd said. "Ann is one of my all-time favorite vocalists, especially when it comes to rock music. It was an honor and a privilege to do it."

And unlike many collaborations these days, where a musician records his or her part in a home studio and sends out a digital file electronically, Shepherd said they did it old school, working together in a Nashville recording studio.

Shepherd has worked with many rock and blues legends in his career, but he didn't hesitate in naming Stephen Stills, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who is his bandmate in The Rides, as the collaborator who's had the biggest impact on him.

"We've done two records together and three tours together," Shepherd said. "Writing songs with him, I learned a tremendous amount. He's one of the greatest songwriters in history. Also recording and touring, he pushed me to sing more and more. He was adamant in that band we were going to share lead vocals 50 / 50 ... He really helped me step up my game vocally."

Noah Hunt joined Kenny Wayne Shepherd's band as lead singer shortly before the "Trouble Is ..." recording sessions started, and they've been performing together ever since, even as Shepherd has taken over some of the lead vocals.

"He's the brother I never had, and I'm the brother he never had. We both had two sisters. When he joined the band, we were looking for a lead singer and not expecting to have to do that. Within two weeks we found him. God puts the right people in your path at the right time.

"It's a family-type relationship and a business relationship musically. He sang all the lead vocals in the band, but over the years I started singing lead vocals as well. He sings half and I sing half. We have different voices, so we have more tools at our disposal, and he plays guitar and backs me up when I'm singing lead."

If you go …

WHO: Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Robins Theatre, 160 E. Market St., Warren

HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $45 to $100 and are available at the Robins box office and

robinstheatre.com.