957_1185956663.jpgSteve Winwood and Eric Clapton will be performing at Madison Square Garden in New York on February 26th, 27th and 28th, 2008. Three nights of must see shows of the decade. Winwood commented that “I’m very excited about these upcoming shows with Eric. Blind Faith was a long time ago and we have both come a long way since then. It was a wonderful experience for me to play at Crossroads this summer and I’m really looking forward to exploring some more music together in February”. Clapton has mutual feelings and said “I have wanted to play with Steve for a long time. I consider him a friend and a truly gifted musician. Our set at the Crossroads Festival this summer was a real treat, so I expect these shows will be good fun for us and for the fans”. Both Winwood and Clapton have long and prestigious musical careers receiving countless honors and awards. Their musical paths crossed in 1969 with the formation of the band Blind Faith, who pioneered the fusion of rock and blues into a tremendous studio and stage success. Despite critical and popular acclaim, the band was short-lived with only one album and a brief 1969 tour that debuted July 12th at Madison Square Garden and ended August 24th in Hawaii. Since that final show, they have remained friends, but have only performed together a few times over the years for an occasional song at a charity event. The 2008 Madison Square Garden shows will be the first full Winwood-Clapton concerts in almost 40 years. A set list has not been discussed and they will spend rehearsal time deciding which songs will be featured at these shows.Tickets will go on-sale first to American Express cardmembers through a special pre-sale, beginning Monday, November 12th at 9am. Tickets can be purchased via ticketmaster.com. If tickets remain, a general on-sale date will follow on Monday, November 19 at 9am.