SAN FRANCISCO — Blues guitar slinger Kenny Wayne Shepherd is serious about carrying on the torch of his legendary idols Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix.

Shepherd, the 22-year-old phenom, opened KFOG Radio's seventh annual "Kaboom" show Saturday by the San Francisco Bay with some searing Stevie Ray-style licks. He closed it with a Hendrix medley, including an explosive version of "Voodoo Chile" that rocked the thousands on hand just before the real fireworks show began.

But the tall, gangly young man had no monopoly on being a prodigy at the show. The concert also featured soulful 14-year-old blues singer Shannon Curfman, whose deep, womanly voice hardly seems like it could come out of a girl her age.

Louisiana-born headliner Shepherd has got the roadhouse licks, and the stage presence, too. He struts around with swagger, tearing into riffs inspired by his heroes.

Coupled with passionate vocalist Noah Hunt, Shepherd played with abandon, choking out leads and whipping around his long blond hair. Eventually, the guitarist may need to develop his own style, but he's certainly not simply a copycat.

With three albums under his belt, Shepherd can play the flashy stuff with gusto, lightning speed and rough-edged distortion. He has a less showy side, though.

Sticking To The Roots

His moody "In 2 Deep" (RealAudio excerpt), off his newest album, Live On, was a big crowd pleaser. So was "Last Goodbye," the slow rocker off the same album.

Hunt put a lot of feeling into "Blue on Black" (RealAudio excerpt), from Shepherd's second album, Trouble Is, with Shepherd backing him up on vocals.

At one point, Shepherd and the band sat down for some acoustic songs. His National Steel guitar slide-work was snaky and his biting rhythm licks helped drive a lively version of Jimmie Reed's "Big Boss Man."

"Where Was I," an acoustic love song he and Hunt wrote together, provided a rolling, subtle break from the blues rockers.

But the band didn't stray too far from its blues roots.

"We're taking you down to Texas on this one," growled Hunt, as they charged into "Shotgun Blues" (RealAudio excerpt), with plenty of struttin' from Shepherd and licks galore.

She's Got It Covered

A South Dakota native, Curfman's gutsy vocals are impressive and she can play a mean blues guitar, too.

She may look every part the teenager, with her long auburn hair, purple guitar and sequined jeans, but she sings like a wise old soul and writes a lot of her own songs.

Curfman sang about black cats moaning, mojo hands and angels on "Playing With Fire," a sizzling blues rocker from her debut album Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions. The lyrics in her song "True Friends" (RealAudio excerpt) seemed to belie her age: "There will come a time/ Somewhere down the line/ You're gonna find out/ Who your true friends are."

She seemed to be having fun onstage with her band, and her attitude was infectious. She moved from band member to band member, grinning, talking and pounding out rhythmic riffs. The group seemed to feed off her.

She showed some great taste in cover songs, too.

"Hey, you know Chaka Kahn and Rufus got this great song, and we're gonna do it for you," she screamed to the audience before a playful version of "Tell Me Something Good."

With her red hair blowing in the wind and a gospel-influenced vocal style in place, she performed a solid version of The Band's classic "The Weight."

As accomplished as she is now, it's intriguing to speculate how good she may be years down the road, when she can legally enter some of the venues she plays.