90 Years After Robert Johnson's Session, Grandson Returns to Record in Room 414

The Gunter Hotel in San Antonio will host a three-day event from November 12 to 14 to mark the 90th anniversary of a 1936 recording session by Robert Johnson. The Mississippi guitarist, who was 25 at the time, stayed at the hotel and captured material that later influenced major figures in rock and roll. The anniversary falls in the same year the property completed a major modernization.

Steven Johnson, the bluesman's grandson, will serve as the central figure in the programming. He plans to record a new album in hotel room 414, the same space where the original 1936 session occurred. Johnson will also use the on-site Gunter Studio for the project. The Robert Johnson Blues Foundation is scheduled to release the resulting album.

The musical lineup includes pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph, who recently won his first Grammy for the album Preacher Kids. He will share the stage with Texas blues-rock guitarist Ally Venable and the Steve L. Johnson Band. Marco Cervantes, a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio who performs under the name Mexstep, will emcee the Saturday showcase in the Crystal Ballroom.

Events are scheduled across multiple venues within the hotel. On Thursday, November 12, producer Michael Ramos will lead tours of the Gunter Studio from 5 to 7 p.m. A performance by the Robert Johnson Revue featuring Nicky Diamonds is set for the Studio Lounge from 7 to 9 p.m. The Aaron Stephens Trio will play at Bar 414 from 9 p.m. to midnight.

On Friday, November 13, a conversation with the Robert Johnson Family, moderated by Hector Saldaña, will take place in the Gunter Studio Lounge from 6 to 7 p.m. Tomar & The FCs and Jordan Matthew Young are set to perform in the Crystal Ballroom from 8 to 10 p.m. Nick Brown & The Blues Cruise will follow at Bar 414 from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The Saturday main event in the Crystal Ballroom runs from 7 to 10:15 p.m. The Eve Monsees Trio will play at Bar 414 from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tickets for the weekend start at $59. The Gunter Hotel reopened in 2025 following a $70 million renovation that included the installation of a recording studio and a lobby record lending library. Every guest room now contains a turntable and a copy of King of the Delta Blues Singers.

Hotel owner Jiwon Choi stated in a release that the property is honored to bring together talented artists to celebrate the hotel's history. Choi noted that the mission is to honor those who came before and encourage future generations of artists. A music council comprising Adrian Quesada, Will and Noel Bridges, and Garrett T. Capps currently advises the hotel on its programming.