The last place you would expect to find one of the US’s great blues musicians is watching a test match at Lords. But that’s the kind of thing Derek Trucks – rated by Rolling Stone as the 16th Greatest Guitarist of All Time – likes to do when he’s in London.

The musician, whose Tedeschi Trucks Band play Bluesfest at Greenwich’s O2 Arena on November 7, said: “We have hit all the obvious sites. Even taking the kids to a cricket match at Lords was pretty great for me as a baseball fan.

“Those are the things that I love to do. You’re trying to piece together what’s going on. You have a pretty good idea then you have a break for tea in the middle of it. I was like ‘this is awesome’.”

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One of the reasons the 12-piece band is such a formidable live presence is that they’re so close.

“Everybody spends a lot of time together,” he said. “We do a lot of living and exploring together and it’s nice to have a story to tell when you’re on stage.

“There is a lot of heart put into what we’re doing.

“Everybody up there, they are all great musicians that have come from a lot of places but they all believe in what we’re trying to do.

“It’s not hired guns that are getting through it or trying to find a spot to do what they want to do. You can feel that everybody is playing for the good of the group, which I’ve also found is a rare thing, sadly.”

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Of course, it helps that the two people the band is named after – Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi – are husband and wife.

Both had successful careers before joining forces. Derek played with The Allman Brothers Band and Eric Clapton while Susan had been nominated for five Grammy Awards for her solo work and was regarded as one of the best vocalists around.

So it was a match made in heaven, really.

Derek said: “A lot of it was the timing of it all. When I first met Susan I certainly had in the back of my mind that I would love to put a band together with her one day.

“There are not many voices that are that powerful. Immediately I was just thinking musically it would be great to do.

“But when we met we were pretty deep into our own things.”

“Then we had two kids and got married and I did the Clapton tour. It was just a busy decade. The next thing you know you’re ten years down the road and it hits you that if we’re going to do it, we kind of need to do it while we’re young and dumb enough to jump in full force.”

Tedeschi Trucks Band have now been together for five years now to widespread acclaim, winning a  Grammy for Best Blues Album in 2012, and while the tension of being in a band is too much for some relationships the Tedeschi-Trucks have flourished.

Derek said: “I have been in a lot of bands over the years and they all bring challenges. It’s been really, really good for us personally. Being together more has been great and sharing the same focus is really nice.”

Bluesfest is at the O2 from Friday, November 6, to Sunday, November 8 and includes Dave Matthews Band, Tom Jones and Van Morrison, Jamie Cullum and more. Tedeschi Trucks Band play Indigo at the O2 on Saturday, November 7. Go to prudentialbluesfest.co.uk