Albert Lee Tears It Up At Buffalo's Sportsmens Tavern

1/24/2026 - Buffalo, New York - On this frigid January Saturday evening, I headed West down I90 to Route 33 West finally onto Route 198 West into the heart of downtown Buffalo to see the guitar virtuoso Albert Lee perform at the Sportsmens Tavern. I arrived about an hour early to the venue and checked in at the door having my name verified as a ticket holder for the show tonight. This was my first time at this venue which was general admission and I was able to sit at a front row table with a couple of local guys and took in the sound check for Albert Lee and his band who sounded great with a sneak preview of Setting Me Up. The venue was small but had capacity for a couple hundred with tables and chairs on the first floor and a second story bar and viewing area. A pretty cool little venue/bar, I would say. Tonight the small crowd would be entertained by the eighty-two year old Lee and his band featuring J.T. Thomas on keyboards, David Chamberlain on bass and Jason Smith on drums. Albert and band would play two sets on this evening opening the show with one of my personal favorites, Setting Me Up from his album Lay It Down that he is still promoting that was released in 2024. He played a couple more songs from that album including Lay It Down and Too Young To Die. Albert's vocals and fretboard work were brilliant showing off his blend of country, rock & roll and rockabilly along side his band that were pretty tight on this night. We were sent on a journey through his legendary career with songs and stories from being fired from Clapton's band, to playing with Emmylou Harris and stepping in for his hero James Burton who joined Elvis's band and playing with the Everly Brothers. He jammed on classic tunes like Luxury Liner and an excellent cover of Ray Charle's Leave My Woman Alone. He closed the set with his hit Country Boy telling how he wrote it and it ended up being a hit for Ricky Skaggs in 1985. Albert and band did a two song encore that included Albert behind the keyboard with another great cover of Glenn Campbell's A Better Place. They closed the show with a rockin jam on Tear It Up. This was a great show and Albert Lee showed at the young age of eighty-two he continues to bring it. After the show I thanked Albert and commended him on a good set. I asked if I would see him in Austin later this year for the next potential Crossroads, he said he has not heard of it yet but I if it happens I hope to see him there.Slideshow
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Albert Lee performs Tear It Up at Sportsmens Tavern in Buffalo, New York on Jan 24, 2026

Albert Lee performs Lay It Down at Sportsmens Tavern in Buffalo, New York on Jan 24, 2026

Albert Lee performs Luxury Liner at Sportsmens Tavern in Buffalo, New York on Jan 24, 2026

Albert Lee performs Country Boy at Sportsmens Tavern in Buffalo, New York on Jan 24, 2026

Albert Lee performs Leave My Woman Alone at Sportsmens Tavern in Buffalo, New York on Jan 24, 2026

Albert Lee performs Setting Me Up at Sportsmens Tavern in Buffalo, New York on Jan 24, 2026