FAMILY, FRIENDS AND BANDMATES CELEBRATE A MUSICAL LEGACY AND SHARE THEIR STORIES. 

Bringing a sensibility that comes from being around this music their whole lives, lead guitarist and vocalist, Will Johns, is Eric’s Nephew; on keyboards, Noah East is son to Clapton’s longtime bassist, Nathan East.

From 2024, we are blessed to have the legendary groove of Grammy award winning drummer Steve Ferrone, who played in Eric’s band between 1986 and 1992.

The set includes not only the ‘Clapton Classics’ but rekindles hits from albums Behind the Sun, August and Journeyman – recordings that have particularly influenced this band and led to Eric’s record breaking 24-night residency at London’s Royal Albert Hall with Steve Ferrone on drums!

2024 TOURING MUSICIANS

will johns

Lead guitarist and vocalist Will Johns grew up being influenced by some of Britain’s best-known musical and cultural icons, including being taught his first guitar riff by his uncle, Eric Clapton. The blues-God was then married to Will’s Aunt and British modelling icon Pattie Boyd and this family connection provided a rich and auspicious start for the young man.

Johns is also the son of legendary Recording Engineer and Producer, Andy Johns and nephew of fellow Producer Glyn Johns. Additionally, Will counts Mick Fleetwood and the late, great, George Harrison, as uncles and has performed onstage with Eric, Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood, Nile Rogers, Ronnie Wood, Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman, to name but a few.

Now known as an outstanding guitarist in his own right, Johns has released five solo albums, the most recent of which was ‘Yin & Yang’ in October 2023. He is thrilled to be part of this project, bringing the music that he’s known since boyhood to life with this ‘new gen’ band.

noah east

A Pianist and Organist, Noah East is son of Nathan East, one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music and a long-time member of Eric Clapton’s band. Now 23, Noah began playing the piano at the age of four when his parents discovered that he had perfect pitch, and he has been recording music since he was 13-years-old.

He and his father have been involved with multiple educational institutions and have also performed together at music venues around the world, including the legendary Tokyo Blue Note Jazz Club. They are set to release their first album together in early 2024.

Graduating  from UC Berkely in 2022, Noah jumped at the opportunity to join The Cream of Clapton Band: “Eric’s music has been the sound track of my life and to have the chance to interpret and play his extraordinary legacy, with such amazing musicians, is such a wonderful start to my career ” he says.

julia hofer

Bass player and cellist, Julia Hofer, has become one of the most talked about musicians in her native Austria and Germany.

Now 30, she picked up the cello at 8 years of age and quickly won several prizes and scholarships. At 16, she began playing bass guitar and moved to Vienna to complete a bachelor’s degree in music and education. She has gone on to complete two Master’s degrees and teaches at the Gustav Mahler Private University in Klagenfurt and at the Jam Music Lab, in Vienna. Julia has played in many bands and theatre productions, across many genres, including tours with ultra-successful German all-female pop group ‘No Angels.’

She first came to people’s attention on YouTube with her simple but compelling videos that work through much loved bass lines from classic songs played by the greats, including, of course, Nathan East!

We are very happy that she will continue to play with the band in 2025, and that quite regularly, some of her favourite musicians will once again join her on stage too!

anika nilles

Since bursting onto the music scene 10 years ago, German drumming phenomenon, Anika Nilles, quickly became one of the most talked about players in the business.

Reflecting this, she had the honour and privilege to be asked by the late, great, Jeff Beck, to join his band in 2022.

Anika has won multiple awards, is a prolific educator, teacher and recording artist, with a YouTube channel that can boast well over 23 million views.

She composes music for her own band, Nevell, which fuses together urban jazz, modern funk and progressive rock, to showcase the musicality and virtuosity of those involved.

This unique project continues to build its reputation given the truly original sound, musical arrangements and electric, live concert experience they deliver.

steve ferrone

With one of the deepest pockets in the business, Steve’s ability to nail a groove is legendary. In addition to his six-year tenure with Eric Clapton, which included touring and recordings on Journeyman, 24 Nights and Eric’s best-selling album, Unplugged, Steve joined Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in 1994 through to Tom’s untimely passing in 2017.

He has also played with a myriad of top artists and musicians over a career spanning ‘at least’ five decades, including the Average White Band, Anita Baker, Bee Gees, George Benson, Johnny Cash, Tracy Chapman, Duran Duran, Bryan Ferry, Climie Fisher, Peter Frampton, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Christine McVie, Pat Metheny, Marcus Miller, Stevie Nicks, Jaco Pastorius, Scritti Politti, Paul Simon, Slash and Steve Winwood.

It is an honour for us to have the opportunity to work with him.

nathan east

When the occasion presents itself, our long-time supporter and advocate, Nathan East, thoroughly enjoys playing with his 23-year-old son Noah, and an ever-changing list of the very best guest musicians who say it’s an honour to play this music.

One of the most recorded bass players of all time, East was 16 years old when he got his first break and found himself on the road with Barry White. The next time the phone rang, Quincy Jones was on the line. The calls kept coming and for the last four decades, East has been recording and performing with artists as legendary as Phil Collins, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Toto, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand, and Stevie Wonder.

He is a founding member of the chart-topping contemporary jazz group Fourplay and has been one of Eric Clapton’s go-to bass players since 1984.

greg bissonette

With his infectious enthusiasm and legendary swing, GRAMMY® Award-winning musician Gregg Bissonette has played and recorded with legends such as Ringo Starr, David Lee Roth, Maynard Ferguson, Santana, Don Henley, Ray Charles, Rick Springfield, Gino Vannelli and Joe Satriani, to name but a few!

No wonder he was voted best all-around drummer in the 2023 Modern Drummer Reader’s Poll.

We are blessed that he too loves this music and the band can benefit from his prodigious talent when the stars are in alignment.

momme boe

Momme was born in 1981 and at the age of 3 became determined to play snare drum in the local marching band. However the drum was far too heavy for him, so he had to wait a while longer! He finally got his first drum kit when he was 8 and played jazz and big band music at school.

In 2001 he went to Kiel to join the ‘German Navy Music Corps’ for two years.
From 2003 he studied jazz, rock and pop drums at the University of Music in Hannover.

Momme has played concerts and toured in over twenty countries as a both drummer and percussionist, including shows with David Hasselhoff, Pee Wee Ellis, Marquess and David Garrett.

In 2017 he founded and continues to run his own music school in Husum, Germany and we are fortunate that he could find time to play with The Cream Of Clapton Band for our 2024 German Tour.

2023 TOURING MUSICIANS

dylan elise

New Zealand born-and-bred Dylan Elise started drumming at age six. He began performing in public not long after and was on television just three years later. As a teenager, Dylan won several musical competitions and has been teaching and performing all over the world since he was 15-years-old. In 2015 he began playing drums for legendary jazz/rock fusion band Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Now 32-years-old, most of his success can be put down to his formidable skills behind the drum kit, as well as the viral drumming YouTube videos that have showcased them. Collectively, that footage has received over 30 million views. In his own words, Dylan “grew up listening to this music, which became a real passion of mine, so to be able to play with the likes of Will and Noah, with their connects and DNA, makes it so much more authentic. We’re going to blow people away!”

STEVE BALL

A talented multi-instrumentalist and singer, Steve Ball plays bass guitar for The Cream of Clapton Band. Eric Clapton’s music was the reason he became a musician – a story that came to light when he toured with The Music of Cream on their final tour in 2022.

Since 2005 Ball has been part of well-known Chicago based band Mr. Blotto and says he’s been “wearing out grooves on Cream and Eric Clapton records since I was a kid”, leading to a career spanning over 30 years and 3000 shows. Ball looks forward to realising his dream in 2023 with TCOCB and will greatly contribute to this project quickly becoming the pre-eminent band celebrating Clapton’s musical legacy.