The crowd at Morristown, NJ’s MPAC this Wednesday, April 2, 2025 evening is fired up for tonight’s sold-out Experience Hendrix 2025 tour concert starring Samantha Fish, Devon Allman, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Zakk Wylde, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Ally Venable, Eric Johnson, Noah Hunt, Mato Nanji, Dylan Triplett, and Henri Brown.
After a video of Jimi Hendrix warms up the crowd, Jimi’s sister, Janie Hendrix, greets the audience, announcing, “I know it’s not Sunday, but you’re about to go to church,” explaining that what the congregation is about to experience can only be described as a “tornado of energy” which she describes as her brother Jimi’s “concept of an electric church.”
Janie welcomes to the stage vocalist Henri Brown who, backed by guitarist Mato Nanji, bassist Orlando Wright, drummer Sam Bryan, and pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph, launches into “Foxy Lady.”
In his soulful, raspy voice Brown sings, “I wanna take you home/I won’t do you no harm, no/You’ve gotta be all mine, all mine/Aw shucks, foxy lady,” on this Hendrix classic before Robert Randolph wails out an explosive solo on the pedal steel guitar as Brown looks on and the crowd erupts into avid cheers and applause.
Singer/guitarist Ally Venable takes the stage declaring, “I’m so excited to be here playing this amazing, legendary music!” Backed by bassist Kevin McCormick, drummer Tony Beard, and Janie Hendrix on tambourine, Venable tears into a smoldering rendition of “Fire.” Music lovers in the crowd sing along with her soulful vocal on the rhythmic rocker’s “Let me stand next to your fire” refrain before Venable picks with precision and style on a showy and electrifying guitar solo.
Hendrix fans hoot and holler as singer/guitarist Devon Allman delivers his rendition of “Little Wing.” Standing center stage, Allman’s full, rich baritone voice fills the MPAC auditorium before he wails out a guitar solo on this rock ballad, commanding the stage with his talent.
Allman exclaims, “Somebody in here is having a good time tonight!” as music lovers rise to their feet for “Are You Experienced?” Singing “Are you experienced?/Or have you ever been experienced?/Well, I have,” Allman’s hypnotic voice draws listeners in on this soulful rocker before he rips off a distorted psychedelic guitar solo.
Audience members cheer and Allman exclaims to the crowd, “You’re looking pretty beautiful tonight!” as Venable reenters the stage along with singer/guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram for a rendition of “Killing Floor.” As Venable looks on, Ingram’s baritone voice cries out, “You got me cryin’ on a killing’ floor” on this R&B blues number before he offers up a soulful and bluesy guitar solo.
Steel pedal guitarist Robert Randolph retakes the stage along with “Kingfish” and Nanji where the trio makes make their instruments sing on the slow Hendrix rocker, “Hey Joe,” before Randolph, Nanji, and “Kingfish” trade riffs on the swamp-rocking “Catfish Blues.”
The crowd rises to its feet as New Jersey’s own Zakk Wylde enters the auditorium.
Accompanied by McCormack and Beard on bass and drums, Wylde descends into the crowd soloing on his ax. Returning to the stage for “Purple Haze,” Hendrix fans energetically join in on the song’s “‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky” lyric before Wylde makes his way back down into the audience to shred a lightning fast solo surrounded by members of the standing crowd.
Back on stage, Wylde plays with his guitar behind his back to flashing purple lights as an image of Hendrix appears on the screen behind him.
The crowd cheers for this ultimate showman after which he raises his guitar above his head and exclaims, “God bless Jimi Hendrix!”
Wylde and Allman trade vocals on the hard-rocking “Manic Depression” while audience members dance in the aisles. The crowd joins in singing “There must be some kind of way outta here/Said the joker to the thief” on Hendrix’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” before Wylde and Nanji render stinging guitar solos.
On “Power of Soul,” Henri Brown sings, “With the power of soul/Anything is possible,” after which Eric Johnson deftly picks out a solo on this dynamic rocker.
Johnson follows up by creating unusual sounds on his instrument to introduce “One Rainy Wish,” where vocalist Dylan Triplett sings in his smooth, melodic voice, “I’d love to tell somebody about this dream/The sky was filled with a thousand stars,” on this bluesy rocker backed by Johnson on guitar and an on-screen image of Jimi.
Following the rocking “Burning of the Midnight Lamp,” singer/guitarist Samantha Fish takes the stage for a slow and sultry version of “Angel.” In her crying voice, Fish sings, “Fly on, my sweet angel/Fly on through the sky/Fly on, my sweet angel/Tomorrow, I’m gonna be by your side.”
“Spanish Castle Magic” is a rhythmic rocker which features a wailing Eric Johnson guitar solo, and on the funky “Crosstown Traffic,” Hendrix fans sing along with Fish on the song’s “(Crosstown traffic) So hard to get through to you/(Crosstown traffic) I don’t need to run over you” refrain.
The crowd cheers and Fish exclaims, “It’s such an honor to be here with these great musicians honoring this one great musician!” before gliding into “If 6 Was 9,” a bluesy rocker which features a rollicking Tony Beard drum solo.
Accompanied by Wright on bass and Bryan on drums, Allman, Ingram, Venable, Triplett, and Nanji return with “Red House.” Triplett sings with soul and flair before Allman, Venable, and “Kingfish” solo over this red-hot blues tune with a funky R&B rhythm.
Triplett and “Kingfish” continue with the percussive “Who Knows,” where the audience echo sings after Triplett, “They don’t know (They don’t know)/Like I know (Like I know),” on this engaging call-and-response tune.
Following hoots and hollers, Nanji says, “We’re gonna take you back to 1969 to the Fillmore East,” before he, “Kingfish,” and Henri Brown perform the funky “Them Changes.” After Brown cries, “Well, my mind is going through them changes,” the entire congregation is on its feet singing “We got to live together!” before exploding in applause.
Guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and vocalist Noah Hunt take the stage and Shepherd says, “Put your hands together, New Jersey!” to get the crowd clapping along to the rhythmic and funky “Gypsy Eyes.” Hunt’s melodic vocal carries this funky rock tune as he sings, “Well I realize that I’ve been hypnotized/I love you, gypsy eyes,” accompanied by Shepherd on his Flying V guitar.
Shepherd switches guitars for “Come On (Let the Good Times Roll),” a blues number where Hendrix fans sing along with Hunt on the tune’s “Come on, baby, let the good times roll/Hey, hey” lyric before Shepherd renders a distorted blues solo.
Shepherd asks, “Has everyone had a good time tonight?” before acknowledging, “We all come from different musical backgrounds, but we are all influenced by Jimi Hendrix!”
On tonight’s final number, a “Voodoo Chile” medley, Hunt sings a slow and funky version of the song before Shepherd impresses with a sizzling solo played only with his left hand on his guitar neck and his right hand held high in the air.
He follows up by taking a seat and playing his guitar ever so softly, captivating the crowd with his instrumental mastery.
As his solo builds, the crowd cheers for Shepherd and lights flash as Hunt returns to complete the medley to a standing ovation, after which all of tonight’s performers take a final bow and Janie Hendrix concludes, “Thank you for keeping Jim’s music alive!”
To learn more about the Experience Hendrix 2025 tour, please go to experiencehendrixtour.com. For information on upcoming concerts at MPAC — including Old Crow Medicine Show on April 23, the Happy Together Tour on June 21, and Dave Mason’s Traffic Jam on August 13 — please click on mayoarts.org.
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