Playing with Stevie

Alicia Keys. Ziggy Marley. Joss Stone. L.D. Miller.

That's right. Lafayette's young blues harp player was among some of the nation's top pop acts on Dec. 18 at Stevie Wonder's House Full of Toys benefit concert at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles.

Miller, a member of the Clayton Miller Band, opened the entire show with a rendition of "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Fever." He was eventually joined on stage by Wonder. The concert also featured India.Arie, Kanye West, Doug E. Fresh and Whodini in front of a crowd of 22,000, Miller's biggest live performance so far.

"I had a lot of butterflies in my stomach, and my knees were knocking," said Miller, a 5th grader at Dayton Elementary.

All of the Millers attended the concert that helped collect toys for needy kids across the country. The family is still coming down from the experience.

"It was just incredible," beamed Tammy Miller, mom, wife and manager of the band.

L.D. Miller was introduced by comedian and television personality Steve Harvey, who also introduced L.D. to Wonder on his WB show, Steve Harvey's Big Time, in April. Wonder invited the 11-year-old to play the annual charity concert after the taping.

Aside from the musicians, Miller got to meet co-host Jamie Foxx, action hero Steven Seagal and even Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. The Millers were allowed access during rehearsals and backstage. Tammy described the day as full of positive energy. The famous musicians were "not haughty which was a breath of fresh air," she said.

The Millers received countless business cards from concert and record producers after the concert. Few plans for the future were made concrete as the Millers make their home base in Lafayette. That makes it difficult to return to Los Angeles on a regular basis.

The Millers are now taking a break from the road to spend the holidays at home. They are spending some quality time with the youngest member of the Miller clan, Clayton's son Ches Michael, who was born in September.

Tammy announced that the band is off the college circuit and will gear up for a national showcase Jan. 9 in New York City. Before that, LD and older brother Cole will perform from 8 to 10 p.m. Friday at Java Roaster, 130 N. Third St.