Stage Buzz: Robin Trower at The Copernicus Center • Chicago
Robin Trower
Copernicus Center
Chicago, IL
Friday, July 11, 2025
By Kelley Simms
As a newly minted octogenarian, British blues-rock guitar legend Robin Trower continues to dazzle audiences with his signature Fender Stratocaster. From his musical beginnings in Procol Harum in the late ’60s to a successful solo career in the early ’70s (followed by projects with Bryan Ferry and Jack Bruce in the ’80s and 90s), Trower is a master class in blues guitar playing. The legendary guitar virtuoso continues to produce quality albums while touring extensively.
On the heels of 2023’s stunning Joyful Sky comes Trower’s 28th studio release, Come and Find Me. With Studio 91’s owner, Sam Winfield, being responsible for the engineering and the final mix, Trower was intensely involved with every element of the creation of the album. “What I’m trying to do with every album is to improve and try to get things more right,” Trower confesses during a recent phone interview. “I have a good idea of the arrangements before I go into the studio. I probably have a bass part, and I know the drum part. But what I do is, I build it up from what I call computer drums from the guitar part on that, and then add a bass part. I start to build it up, and then finally I get Richard (Watts) in to sing it.”
As with his last few solo releases, Trower’s bright-colored and dynamic abstract painting perfectly conveys what he was trying to capture within the 11 songs that grace Come and Find Me. “Once I’ve decided what the title of the album is going to be, I start to think about ideas that I could try,” Trower says. “It’s always a matter of ‘let’s try it and if that doesn’t work, let’s try something else’ sort of thing. But I spend a few days working on an idea for a cover. When I started to paint that artwork, I wanted to convey that I thought the world had gone into a darker place in the last few years. But there’s always that little space for a bit of hope.”
Lyrically, Trower usually writes about things that are on his mind at that specific point in time. The title track is about the unconditional love for a friend, while the album opener “A Little Bit of Freedom” is Trower’s view on the current status of the world. “I think the lyrics have to work as an entity unto themselves, but I like to try and link the whole album up,” Trower admits. “The album has got an overall vibe to it. Some of the songs obviously are a little bit political, “A Little Bit of Freedom” for instance. That’s my worries about how we’re being told what to fend and there’s so much red tape and so many rules being handed down.”
On the track “Tangled Love,” powerhouse guest singer Jess Hayes adds a soulful flavor to the composition. Trower discovered her while on his last UK tour in 2024 as her band was opening for him. He was instantly knocked out by her dynamic range and had to have her on the album.
For Come and Find Me, Trower enlisted his trusted studio band, consisting of drummer Chris Taggart, bassist Glenn Letsch, and long-standing vocalist Richard Watts. “I’m very fortunate to work with such brilliant musicians,” Trower says. “I give them an outline and they run with it and give you exactly what each song needs. We get on great together. We’ve been working together for a long time now.”
On the live front, Trower is a road warrior and is well-received in the US. It has always been the most successful country for him in terms of selling records and touring. Trower will return to Chicago on July 11 at the Copernicus Center.
Although he has played here many times, Trower is always excited to play for a Chicago audience. “I think Chicago has for me one of the best audiences I get,” he explains. “They’re so into what I’m doing, and it’s a fantastic feeling to play there.”
Trower’s set list is guaranteed to be filled with all of his well-known and classic hits, as well as at least one from the new album. “I always have to include stuff from the earlier albums, mostly from *Bridge of Sighs*. And I do one off of *Twice Removed from Yesterday*. And there’s one off of *In City Dreams*, a song called “Somebody Calling.” I do a few songs off of *No More Worlds to Conquer*, which are some of my favorite songs that were written. But I’m only doing one off the new album at the moment. It is my favorite track off the new album called “One Go Round.” So it’s a good cross section of stuff.”
Trower will return to the US in September and October for the third leg of the tour, mainly on the West Coast and Texas. He also shared that he has already completed a new album, which is set to be released soon. He is also planning to release a live album of this tour, demonstrating that age is no barrier to rock and roll.
See Robin Trower live on July 11 at the Copernicus Center, Chicago.
Category: Featured, Stage Buzz
