Nathan East Takes on Jazz Fusion with John McLaughlin at Crossroads 2026

Nathan East was one of the busiest musicians at Eric Clapton’s 2026 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Austin.  Along with his son Noah East on keyboards and Sonny Emory on drums, Nathan carried the low end during several performances throughout the weekend.

Among the artists East shared the stage with were Will Johns, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Gales, Marcus King, Trey Anastasio, John Mayer, and of course Eric Clapton. Through it all, Nathan had his familiar Yamaha BBNE2 signature bass and Laney rig along for the ride.

One of the coolest pairings came on the first night with legendary guitarist John McLaughlin for a tight 20 minute set. They opened with “Little Miss Valley,” then moved into Pharoah Sanders’ “Light at the Edge of the World” before closing with the Miles Davis tune “Jean Pierre.”

Nathan sounds completely at home in McLaughlin’s jazz fusion world.

Check out the full set below.