Ladies, mark your calendars: May 3rd is your new favorite holiday. "I do have a day named after me," admitted the talented blues-rock guitarist Gary Clark Jr. backstage at Rolling Stone's Coachella Rock Room party. "When I was 17, the mayor called me up and had this presentation. He declared May 3rd Gary Clark Day in Austin. But I don't celebrate it or anything."

The up-and-comer has another intriguing day on the horizon: he'll perform at Metallica's Orion Festival in New Jersey in late June. "I don't know if I'll cover a Metallica song, but I did grow up with a buddy of mine and that's all he would listen to when I first started playing guitar," said Clark, who is preparing to release his full-length debut in September. "He'd invite me over to play the rhythm guitar parts so he could play the leads."

Interview by Stacey Anderson, video by Eric Helton

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