Empire Live is the kind of room that rewards the drive to Albany. Two floors, standing room, 1,000 capacity — intimate enough that you feel the guitar through your chest, big enough that the crowd has room to move. On Thursday, September 17, Canadian blues-rock guitarist Anthony Gomes brings his Praise the Loud 2026 World Tour to 93 N. Pearl Street, and if you have been on the fence, here is why you should go.
About Anthony Gomes
The Toronto native has been building his reputation since the late ’90s, and his backstory is almost cinematic: B.B. King’s bus driver caught him at a jam night, introduced him to the legend himself, and Gomes ended up opening dates for B.B. King in 2005. That door led to stages alongside Buddy Guy, Robert Plant, Joe Bonamassa, Heart, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd — 17 countries and counting.
His own shorthand for what he does: “If B.B. King was in AC/DC, that’s what it would be.” Hard to argue with that framing. He arrives on the back of Praise the Loud, his 14th studio album (Rat Pack Records, April 2025), which hit #1 on iTunes and Amazon’s New Release Blues charts and became his 9th consecutive Billboard Blues Top Ten album. Total Guitar named him one of the 100 Greatest Blues Guitarists of All Time in 2024, and press reviewers have described his vocal delivery as “Dio meets Billy Gibbons — powerful and gritty, yet incredibly warm.”
This is a guitarist at full stride on a world tour. A 1,000-capacity standing room on Pearl Street is exactly the right size for that kind of show.
About Empire Live
Empire Live is a two-floor multi-genre venue in the heart of Albany’s Capital District, at 93 N. Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12207. The upstairs Empire Live space is where larger shows land; Empire Underground, downstairs, is the venue’s more intimate room. Standing room capacity is 1,000. Show time is 8:00 PM.
Tickets
Tickets for Anthony Gomes at Empire Live on Thursday, September 17 are available through Get Tickets or at the Empire Live box office at 93 N. Pearl Street, Albany.