Gary Clark Jr. At The Oakdale

Gary Clark Jr. is from Austin, Texas. His guitar playing and singing have connected with fans of older music, while still putting a modern update on things.

As a genre, a form and an aesthetic, the blues have spread around the world, but the fact that Clark comes from a city with deep roots in the blues somehow gives an added weight to his music — and the way that it gestures confidently toward rock, hip-hop, soul and country. He’s opened for and played with the Rolling Stones in addition to performing with legends like Eric Clapton.

Guitar heroics turn some listeners off, but Clark can shred while making his instrument scream and sing with expressive electric ferocity. Music buffs who think the world has declined since the demise of Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan might find hope in Clark’s bold playing.

Clark released “The Story of Sonny Boy Slim” last year, a record that has plenty of gospel, roots, hip-hop and rock touches, but which has a warm Southern soul vibe, particularly on slower jams like the smoldering “Our Love.” And he’s not above the pleasures of simple forceful strumming, aided by sweet coo-ing backing vocals, like on the devotional stomp of “Church.”

Gary Clark Jr. plays at Toyota Presents Oakdale Theater, 95 S. Turnpike Road, Wallingford, on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 8 p.m. $32.50. 203-265-1501 and livenation.com.