Blues-rock guitarist George Thorogood, with his band the Delaware Destroyers, has announced the first batch of dates in what is almost certainly going to be a year-long tour. Thorogood and crew will be rockin' at clubs, theaters, and casinos across the Midwest and Northeast U.S. and Canada through the end of March, touring behind their 2006 album The Hard Stuff.

You won't find many surprises at a Thorogood show, just good old-fashioned gutbucket blues-rock with plenty of riff-happy guitar and a driving beat. Check 'em out when they hit a city near you.

Related content: George Thorogood profile

Photo by Paul Kane, courtesy Getty Images

George Thorogood & the Destroyers Tour Dates
Feb. 26 @ Northern Lights, Milwaukee WI
Feb. 27 @ Barrymore Theater, Madison WI
Feb. 28 @ Blue Chip Casino, Michigan City IN
March 1 @ Alder Theater, Davenport IA
March 2 @ Event Center, East Peoria IL
March 5 @ Centennial Hall, London Ontario
March 6 @ Ceaser's, Windsor Ontario
March 7 @ Rama Casino, Rama Ontario
March 9 @ Seneca Casino, Salamanca NY
March 10 @ State Theater, Ithaca NY
March 11 @ House of Blues, Boston MA
March 12 @ The Egg, Albany NY
March 13 @ Foxwoods, Mashantucket CT
March 14 @ The Flynn, Burlington VT
March 16 @ Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield CT
March 17 @ Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield CT
March 19 @ Capital One Bank Theatre, Westbury NY
March 20 @ Wellmont Theater, Montclair NJ
March 21 @ House of Blues, Atlantic City NJ
March 22 @ The Forum, Harrisburg PA
March 23 @ The Grand Opera House, Wilmington DE
March 25 @ House of Blues, Cleveland OH
March 27 @ Island Resort Casino, Harris MI
March 28 @ Island Resort Casino, Harris MI

More blues artists tour dates

Guitarist Jeff Beck, the middle guy in the six-string trio that made the Yardbirds one of the most beloved British blues-rock outfits of the 1960s, has been given the nod and will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in April.

It won't be the first time that Beck has made the trip – he was inducted as a member of his former band in 1992, but he is one of the few musicians to receive two entries into the hall. Beck's predecessor in the 'birds, Eric Clapton, is the only artist to be inducted three times…with the Yardbirds, as a member of Cream, and as a solo artist.

Beck started out in the blues, and his dazzling technique and innovative playing style was often overlooked, even though it provided a different dimension to the Yardbirds after Clapton's departure. Beck left that band after a little less than two years, forming the Jeff Beck Band with Rod Stewart, a tumultuous collaboration that ended in 1971.

Throughout the 1970s, Beck dabbled in instrumental jazz-fusion, pop-rock, heavy metal, and hard rock with mixed commercial success. Semi-retired for the better part of the past two decades, Beck has continued to tour and record sporadically, releasing his most recent album, Performing This Week, late in 2008. Beck is also an in-demand session musician, and has lent his stellar guitarplay to recordings by artists as diverse as Donovan, Steve Winwood, Roger Waters, Tina Turner, and Mick Jagger, among many others.

Thrash-metal pioneers Metallica, old school rappers Run-DMC, soul artist Bobby Womack, and R&B band Little Anthony & the Imperials will be joining Beck at the induction ceremony in Cleveland on April 4, 2009. The inductions and performances will be broadcast live on Fuse TV.

B.B. King & Jeff Beck, photo by Kevin Winter, courtesy Getty Images

The work of R&B legend Isaac Hayes, who we lost last August at the age of 65, will be revisited next month by Stax Records. On February 24, 2009 Stax will be reissuing both Hayes' 1971 soul classic Black Moses, as well as the influential singer/songwriter's 1976 disco album, Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak), which was originally released on Hayes' own Hot Buttered Soul label. Read more....

Photo courtesy Stax Records

Blues artist Sonny Rhodes is having some severe medical issues that are preventing the musician from performing, and thus putting food on his family's table. Rhodes has been unable to perform regularly since last October, and he has only done so against doctor's wishes in order to pay the rent. The veteran bluesman recently had emergency hernia surgery, and is in dire need of dual hip replacement surgery that will keep him off the road for several months.

Known and respected worldwide as a talented guitarist and songwriter, and as a lap-steel guitarist (an unusual instrument for a bluesman, but one that he wields with deadly emotion), Sonny Rhodes grew up in Texas where he learned his chops playing alongside blues legends like Johnny Copeland and Albert Collins. Rhodes toured as bassist with Collins' and Freddie King's bands before launching his own solo career. Rhodes is best-known in blues music circles for his 1995 album Just Blues, but is familiar to mainstream music fans as the singer behind the theme song for the cult TV series Firefly.

Although insurance will pay much of Rhodes' medical bills, his day-to-day expenses won't be met if he is unable to perform. To this end, his wife and manager have reluctantly asked Rhodes' many fans for financial assistance, and have set up a PayPal link on the artist's MySpace page where those who wish can donate to help the bluesman through this trying time.

Photo courtesy Price Grabber