Ever since 2010, when Gary Clark Jr. wowed audiences with electrifying live sets everywhere from the Crossroads Festival to Hollywood’s historic Hotel Café, his modus operandi has remained crystal clear.

“I listen to everything,” Clark says. “So I want to play everything.”

As a teen, Clark began making a name for himself by jamming with adult musicians around nearby clubs. He struck a balance by singing in the church choir with his sisters. That gritty and sweet combination imbues the honey-thick soul that oozes from his vocals today.

The eclectic Texas music circuit inspired much of Clark’s sound, and no place was more influential than the famed Antone’s nightclub. There Clark had the honor of sharing the stage with local blues heroes like Jimmie Vaughn, Hubert Sumlin, Jr., and Pinetop Perkins. This on-the-job training, combined with studying the genius of BB King, Curtis Mayfield, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye and Parliament-Funkadelic, along with digesting the fresh edge of Tupac and Biggie, lifted Clark into a multi-instrumentalist and undisputed music festival champ.

Now, after spending the last five years transforming audiences from the California desert to the London metropolis, acquiring fans like Barack Obama, Keith Richards, Alicia Keys and Beyoncé along the way, the lanky Texan is ready to spread his musical wings and spectrum hues even wider.