Gary Clark Jr. to Release Self-Titled Debut Album October 23

Gary Clark Jr. has announced the release of his self-titled full-length debut.

The album, which was produced by Clark and Mike Elizondo (Mastodon, Fiona Apple, Dr. Dre), will be released October 23 by Warner Bros. The album cover is shown below.

Clark has been slipping new songs into his sets while performing at several festivals this year, including Bonnaroo, Coachella, Sasquatch! and Lollapalooza.

To coincide with the release of the new album, Clark will make several TV appearances in October. Look out for details on those — plus a track listing for the new release — later this month.

Clark was 12 when he got his first guitar — an Ibanez RX20 — but his motivation was awakened a few months later when a friend gave him Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas Flood and the Jimi Hendrix compilation The Ultimate Experience.

“That just set it off for me,” Clark told Guitar World. “Those records spoke to me in a way I can’t describe. When I heard ‘Purple Haze’ in my headphones, I knew that was my thing. Through Stevie Ray Vaughan I learned about Jimmie Vaughan and other Austin guitarists, like Denny Freeman and Derek O’Brien. When Clifford Antone brought Hubert Sumlin and Buddy Guy to his club [Austin’s famed nightclub, Antone’s], I’d go see them. I soaked it all up. That was my foundation.”

Click here to see the rest of the interview, and head here for more about Gary Clark Jr.