Friday Night Lights • Crossroads Guitar Festival 2026, Night 2

Clapton Closes Crossroads, and Nearly Every Guitarist in Austin Joins Him for the Last Song

Eric Clapton • Sunday, September 27, 2026 • Moody Center, Austin, TX

Crossroads has always ended the same way, with Eric Clapton calling everyone back out. This year’s seventh edition of the festival wrapped up at the Moody Center in Austin after two nights in late September, and the finale lived up to the tradition. Every dollar from the weekend goes to the Crossroads Centre Antigua, the addiction treatment and recovery facility Clapton founded in 1998, which is the whole reason these gatherings exist.

Night two was stacked before Clapton ever walked out. Trey Anastasio made his Crossroads debut and was joined by John Mayer, who took the lead vocal on a searing “What’s Going Through Your Mind” while the two traded solos over Clapton’s own world class backing band. Marcus King brought out his father, Marvin King, along with Sierra Hull, Joe Bonamassa, and Derek Trucks for “Had to Cry Today” and “Blue Ridge Mountain Moon,” an emotional moment that had the main stage hanging on every note. Tommy Emmanuel, John McLaughlin, Gary Clark Jr., and the Del McCoury Band rounded out a night of virtuoso showcases.

Clapton’s own set covered a lot of ground. It opened with the Cream staple “Badge,” moved through Charles Segar’s “Key to the Highway” and Willie Dixon’s “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man,” then settled into an acoustic stretch that included “Kind Hearted Woman Blues,” “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” “Running on Faith,” “Layla,” and a quiet “Tears in Heaven.” The electric half brought “Cross Road Blues” and a jazz leaning jam segment with guests John McLaughlin and Kurt Rosenwinkel on “Call It Stormy Monday” and “Cocaine,” a far more technical detour than most Clapton crowds expect.

Then came the part everyone stays for. Clapton called back nearly every performer from the weekend for a closing jam on “Going Down,” and the highlight of the finale was an all-star run through Derek and the Dominos’ “Got to Get Better in a Little While,” with Clapton, John Mayer, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Trey Anastasio, Billy Gibbons, and Eric Gales all trading lightning fast licks side by side.

Two nights, one cause, and a closing jam with more guitar greats on stage than most festivals book all weekend. Friday night, you hear the finale.