Kenny Wayne Shepherd Celebrates 30 Years of Ledbetter Heights at Kiva Auditorium, Wednesday, June 17, 2026

(Albuquerque, N.M.) — Danny Zelisko Presents is bringing Kenny Wayne Shepherd to The Kiva Auditorium on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026.  Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 21st, at 10:00 a.m. at Ticketmaster.com. 

Thirty years after his groundbreaking debut, Ledbetter Heights put modern blues back on the map, guitar icon Kenny Wayne Shepherd is celebrating the album that started it all with a full re-recording and national anniversary tour kicking off in early 2026.

At just 18, Shepherd’s 1995 debut skyrocketed from small clubs to Platinum status, earning critical acclaim, a Top 10 hit, and Guitar World’s ranking as the No. 3 blues artist behind B.B. King and Eric Clapton. The new Ledbetter Heights (30th Anniversary Edition) revisits the original 12 tracks with refined musicianship, longtime bandmate Noah Hunt on vocals, and original drummer Chris “Whipper” Layton (Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble).

Produced by Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads, Live), Shepherd even used his original 1995 guitar rig to capture the spirit of that era. “This is the album that put me on the map,” Shepherd says. “My goal has always been to make music I want to listen to—unfiltered and straight from the heart.”

The Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour will feature the album performed in its entirety, plus a career-spanning second set. “Revisiting this album put me back in touch with the wonder and excitement of those days,” says Shepherd. “I’m so grateful for this album—it gave me everything.”

ABOUT DANNY ZELISKO PRESENTS

Danny Zelisko began promoting shows in Arizona, in 1974, as a 19 year old transplant from Chicago. He soon founded the legendary concert promotion firm, Evening Star Productions, making the southwest a viable stop on most tours, producing thousands of shows over the years in Arizona, Las Vegas and New Mexico and eventually, all over the USA. Danny proudly partnered Grateful Dead shows with Bill Graham Presents in Phoenix and Las Vegas in the 80s and 90s, which helped transform this area of the country into a concert hotbed that benefited from this vision, to this day. After a brief dalliance with the corporate world of concert producing, Zelisko went solo again in 2011, producing thousands of shows since with many of his favorite acts that he grew up with, in the business, focusing locally on the Celebrity Theatre and Talking Stick Resort. In 2020, Danny put out a book to unanimous acclaim called ALL EXCE$$, covering his life and career over the years, available on Amazon. As a huge music fan, his current plans include booking even more shows all over the country, making sure that people all over feel the LIVE ON STAGE excitement of the great bands he has been exposed to since The Beatles put out their first record in 1963. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A GREAT LIVE CONCERT is the mantra!

About Albuquerque Convention Center

Albuquerque Convention Center is part of the Legends Global portfolio, the largest and most diverse network of premier convention and trade show venues for millions of exhibitors and attendees across an extensive worldwide footprint that spans five continents. Located between the Rio Grande River and the Sandia Mountains in the heart of downtown Albuquerque, the 600,000-square-foot multipurpose complex offers flexible indoor and outdoor meeting and exhibit space that can accommodate events of up to 20,000 people. Its elegant yet intimate Kiva Auditorium boasts a proscenium stage and half-round seating for up to 2,300 people, perfect for concerts, comedy shows, lectures and more. Civic Plaza, the largest public outdoor space in the center of downtown, with a purpose to enhance the city’s sense of community, has a capacity of 20,000 people with a sizable performance stage and a large-scale movie projection system. The Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Regional Sports Complex features five fully lit, 100% turf championship-level baseball fields with on-site batting cages, and grandstand seating perfect for collegiate and regional tournaments and events. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

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