Tommy Talton showcases not only his classic slide and guitar work but his distinctive vocals and passionate lyrics on Saturday at the Sautee Nacoochee Center.

Talton’s performances appeal to all ages and cover genres including blues, southern rock, country rock, Americana, R&B and soul.

Rhythm & Blues is not a complex musical style, and nobody understands this better than Talton. Like other veteran R&B musicians, Talton does not focus on how fast he can play. He does not care how many chord changes he can fit into a measure, or how many tempo changes he can build into one song.

What Talton does care about is texture, restraint, touch and feel. He cares most about those notes that remain unplayed. Talton has spent his entire career searching out just the essential notes — never showboating or grandstanding, but letting his refined flair for lyrical melodies and his velvety-guitar hooks speak for themselves.

Talton was a founding member of Capricorn Records group Cowboy. While in Macon through most of the ’70s, Talton was a studio musician recording with artists such as Bonnie Bramlett, Chuck Levell, Martin Mull, Corky Lang, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Clarence Carter, country legend Kitty Wells, Alex and Livingston Taylor and Arthur Conley of Sweet Soul Music fame.

He toured throughout the United States with Cowboy and with the Gregg Allman tour and was also the guitarist on Gregg Allman’s "Laid Back" album.

Talton lived and toured in Europe throughout the ’90s and formed The Rebelizers with members of Albert Lee’s band, Hogan’s Heroes.

Talton performs in the Sautee Nacoochee Center Theatre at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15 plus tax for members and $20 plus tax for nonmembers. Tickets are available online at www.snca.org or by calling the box office at 706-878-3300.

The Sautee Nacoochee Center is located at 283 Ga 255, just north of the Old Sautee Store at the intersection of Ga 17 and Ga 255 in Northeast Georgia.