Guitar virtuoso Al Di Meola delivered an incredibly captivating performance last night to a sold out crowd at The Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale as part of his “Land of the Midnight Sun” tour, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his debut solo album. The concert had no opening act and the evening featured two complete sets by Al Di Meola and his Electric Band, showcasing a blend of classic compositions and innovative arrangements from throughout his massive discography, focusing mainly on his first three albums.

The first set opened with “The Wizard” setting an energetic tone for the night as Al Di Meola showcased his incredible guitar chops with the expert backing of his talented band. They followed up with “One Night Last June” and the title track of the tour, “Land of the Midnight Sun“, enveloping the audience in guitar licks and rich melodies. Di Meola also revisited his time with Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, performing “Theme to the Mothership” and “Beyond the Seventh Galaxy“, both highlighting his intricate guitar work with the group.

After a small intermission, Al Di Meola and his backing band came back re-energiezed and broke into an acoustic medley featuring snippets of “Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars“, “Mediterranean Sundance” and even a Beatles cover from Di Meola’s tribute album, and the unplugged renditions provided an interesting parallel to the mainly electric guitar based first set. Switching back to the electric for the second part, Di Meola performed classic songs from his early albums like “Egyptian Danza“, “Casino” and “Señor Mouse“, before finishing up his time on stage with an incredible encore featuring “Flight Over Rio” and “Dance With The Devil on the Spanish Highway” once again showcasing Di Meola’s technical prowess and passion.