Scott Holt Band Review [VIDEO]

The Scott Holt Band played to a sold out crowd at Old Skoolz in Sioux Falls Friday night (April 26) that left all of us asking for MORE.

This was the fifth time I've been fortunate enough to see Holt perform and it was definitely my favorite show yet. Holt gives concert goers a 'show' every time you see him. Nothing is scripted, they have no set list coming in, and the audience becomes a part of the show when Holt leaves the stage and will let someone in the audience play his guitar! It's always fun to see the smiles on the audience members faces when, if they have no idea what they're doing, Scott will reach around them and help them play. Or in the case of one guy in the audience who KNOWS how to play, Holt will go back on stage, lead the band, consisting of a fantastic rhythm section of Tom Larson on drums and Calvin Johnson on bass, and continue to sing while the concert goer takes over the guitar solo! Holt says 'why should we be the only one's having fun?'

Holt proudly says he 'studied at the University of Buddy Guy'. Holt toured the world for a decade as a member of Guy's band before going solo and he brings what he learned to the stage every time.

Holt played two smoking 90-minute sets Friday night that included plenty of originals spanning his solo career like my personal favorite Outlines from his most recent release "Kudzu" to a couple from his 1999 "Dark of the Night" release that had him playing with Buddy Guy; Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox from Jimi Hendrix' bands (Hendrix was the man that made Holt want to pick up a guitar in the first place) and Chris Layton & Tommy Shannon, who were better known as Double Trouble when they backed Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Holt also played covers from Albert King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Buddy Guy. Friday was also the day that one of Holt's favorite singers, country music legend George Jones, passed away, so he played a passionate cover of Jones' classic He Stopped Loving Her Today.

But two of the show stoppers and set enders, a tributes to Hendrix. Holt closed the first set with what I call the Guitarist's National Anthem: Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) and finished the night with a 12-minute version of Little Wing.

The show brought all of us to our feet and lingering around after the show to get a chance to get an autograph, take a picture, buy some CD's and "Loud is Good" t-shirts and wish them well on their tour as we anxiously await another show from the Scott Holt Band (so mark September 21 on your calendar as we've got him booked back in at Old Skoolz!)

Check out the videos below to see what you've been missing. Thanks to Rich Szameit for catching the Little Wing finale on video!