On May 22, 2023, a big music party happened at London’s Royal Albert Hall to celebrate a famous guitar player named Jeff Beck. Jeff passed away in January 2023 at 78 years old because he got very sick with something called bacterial meningitis. This was the first of two nights where lots of people came to honor him, and all the tickets were sold out! Famous musicians like Eric Clapton, Johnny Depp, and Kirk Hammett from the band Metallica played music to remember Jeff. It was a night full of awesome guitar sounds, happy memories, and lots of rock music fun.
Eric Clapton, who used to play in a band called the Yardbirds with Jeff, started the show with a song called Blue Rainbow. His guitar sounded so beautiful, like it was singing, and it made everyone excited for more songs like Beck’s Bolero and Yardbirds hits called Shapes of Things and Heart Full of Soul. Then Johnny Depp came on stage and waved to the 5,500 fans. He said, “This is amazing for Jeff—he’d be so surprised!” Johnny, along with Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top and Kirk Hammett, played a song called Isolation, which Jeff and Johnny had recorded together. Kirk’s fast guitar and Billy’s deep, bluesy sound made it super exciting.
So many talented people played that night! Ronnie Wood from The Rolling Stones joined Johnny and a singer named Imelda May for a fun song called Walkin’ in the Sand. Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi played with Eric on a sad but pretty song called The Sky Is Crying. A jazz player named John McLaughlin amazed everyone with a song called You Know You Know, showing how Jeff loved all kinds of music. Billy Gibbons played Rough Boy, a song Jeff liked to play, and then everyone got together for a loud, happy song called Train Kept A Rollin’. At the end, Eric and Gary Clark Jr. played a gentle song called ‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers to say goodbye to Jeff, and then they all played Going Down to finish the night with a big bang.
Jeff’s band, with Rhonda Smith on bass, Anika Nilles on drums, and Robert Adam Stevenson on keyboards, kept the music sounding great. They played songs from all parts of Jeff’s life, like his time with the Yardbirds, blues songs, jazzy music, and songs he made with Johnny later on. Eric showed how he and Jeff were old friends, Johnny shared how they became close recently, and Kirk showed that Jeff’s music touched all kinds of musicians. It wasn’t just a concert—it was a big thank you to Jeff for making music so special.
People put videos of the show on YouTube, and fans loved it. One person wrote, “It was like magic!” Another said, “Jeff was smiling from the sky.” The next night on May 23, another famous singer named Rod Stewart joined in, and the money from the shows went to help Folly Wildlife Rescue, a place that takes care of animals, which Jeff really cared about. At Royal Albert Hall, all these stars didn’t just play music—they showed how much they loved Jeff and how his guitar music will always be remembered.
