Among the big musical happenings around Puget Sound this weekend is the Rock ’N Ride Music Festival, a benefit concert that will bring Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Foghat, the Marshall Tucker Band, Starship and Spike and the Impalers to Auburn’s White River Amphitheatre on Sunday.

The show is the final destination for Children’s Ride 13, the annual motorcycle benefit for Children’s Hospital. Motorcyclists will rally at Seattle’s Qwest Field between 6 and 10 a.m. Sunday, then hit the road and arrive at White River around 11 a.m. Their registration fees, $70 to $500 this year, go toward the cause.

And last week, at least one celebrity cycle fan was pondering showing up on his own “hog.” “I don’t know that I’ll be able to ride with ’em,” said Shepherd, who owns a Harley-Davidson. “We did it once in Dallas, Texas. We did something similar, and I kind of led the pack to the venue.”

What’s for sure is that the 31-year-old guitar hero will showcase his increasingly eclectic sounds on White River’s main stage around 2:30 p.m.

The self-taught guitarist began learning his way around the fretboard in elementary school, as he deciphered Muddy Waters songs. And by 17, he’d earned a reputation as a blues-rock guitar prodigy, as his 1995 debut “Ledbetter Heights” went gold.

Since then, Shepherd’s sound has grown considerably. For his 2004 album, “The Place You’re In,” he veered into alternative and arena-rock territory.

“Every album I do, I want there to be some differences in the record and the content,” he said. And along with the change in guitar aesthetic, personal lyrics inspired Shepherd to take over on lead vocals, a role usually filled by band member Noah Hunt.

“It’s still something I have to work at,” Shepherd said. “Guitar, it comes much more natural to me. So we still have Noah singing most of the lead vocals in the show. But I enjoy singing, and I wanna get better at it. So I’ll continue to sing in the future.”

When asked how much he’d croon on Sunday: “If we put a set list together that incorporates more of the rock stuff, then I’ll step up to the mike.”

Among the reasons Shepherd felt comfortable straying from his blues roots was because he was also working on a blues-oriented CD/DVD release in 2004.

For “10 Days Out,” released early last year, Shepherd took a film crew and a portable studio on the road to record with blues royalty – the likes of B.B. King, Pinetop Perkins and Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Hubert Sumlin.

The interviews and performances are intimate, many done at the artists homes or nearby clubs. “That project was cool,” Shepherd said. “I think it’s something that will definitely stand the test of time. I feel like it’s almost kind of like an educational piece, too, because it gives you some insight into the history of the blues and the people behind the scenes.”

Shepherd has since begun work on his next album, which he hopes to release early next year.

“I’m kind of goin’ back to that middle ground between the blues and the rock,” he said. “But then there’s also a few other things I’ve been experimenting with. Like one song has a lot of jazz chords in it. … It’s gonna be cool. I think it’ll be along the lines of what people are wanting to hear from me.”

You can listen to more of the interview with Shepherd on Bring the Noise (blogs.thenewstribune.com/ej).

After I talked to Shepherd, Children’s Ride founder Rick Baldwin provided a bit of background on the cause. He started the ride in 1995, inspired by his experience at Children’s Hospital two decades earlier.

In 1974, his infant daughter suffered third-degree burns after spilling a coffeepot on herself and wound up at Children’s Hospital for several weeks.

“When that was all over, I owed the hospital about $10,000 I didn’t have,” said Baldwin. He was informed the hospital’s uncompensated care fund would cover expenses.

Fast forward to the ’90s: A charity motorcycle event in Los Angeles inspired Baldwin to organize his own ride.

A hundred riders participated in the first Children’s Ride, raising $13,000 for the fund at Children’s Hospital. Baldwin expected 20 times as many riders this year, and between 4,000 and 5,000 to attend the inaugural Children’s Ride concert.

A related charity auction will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue. You can find out more online at www.childrens-ride.com.

Ernest Jasmin: 253-274-7389