Still the King at age 87 (30 photos)

Any smart musician, regardless of style or level of proficiency, will surround his or herself with the brightest talent available.

Mr. Riley B. King is no exception.

Internationally known for decades as B.B. King, the 87-year-old blues legend and his stellar eight-piece band which includes his nephew Walter Riley King on baritone sax, thrilled a sold-out DreamMakers Theatre at the Michigan Sault Kewadin Casino Thursday night.

Lead by King's long-time right hand man and trumpet player, James “Boogaloo” Bolden, the band opened the performance with two swinging instrumental numbers, highlighting each member's prowess, before the King of the Blues emerged on stage.

As expected, King's charm, wit, and boundless talent held the audience throughout the performance which, surprisingly, peaked at the mid-point with The Thrill is Gone.

But King's band wasn't the only stand-out of the evening.

The night's opener, Jonathon "Boogie" Long, stopped the skeptics in their tracks with a 45-minute set of smokin' blues riffs.

The 24-year-old guitar player from Baton Rouge, Louisiana first picked up a guitar at age six, started playing clubs at 12, and hit the road to tour full time at 14.

Thursday night was Long's first stop on the current B.B. King tour, something he told SooToday.com is a huge honour.

"I've put in a lot of time on the road, but we're following the machine now," He said. "B.B.'s band works and rolls hard, and I'm sure we're gonna learn something before [the tour is] all over with."

"My biggest influence is just being up on stage and feeling it," Long explained. "I've still got a lot of learning yet to do, and a lot of soul yet to gain in this life. Hopefully I can do this for a long while."

For more information about Jonathon "Boogie" Long, please click here

Upcoming performances at Kewadin's DreamMakers Theatre include Teri Clark and Emerson Drive on April 21, Huey Lewis and the News on June 2, and Weird Al Yankovic on June 13.

For details and ticket information, please click here