On Money & Power, Ally Venable wields the power of wisdom and emotional connection. It’s an album about empowerment and comeuppance, but there’s plenty of playtime with guest stars Shemekia Copeland and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. An audio bluesfest, it’s songwriting brings substance carried by guitarists swinging for the fences. What does the albums title represent?What
Hearts and Ears
Keb’ Mo’s latest is folksy, endearing, and called Good To Be. Co-produced by Vince Gill and with Darius Rucker onboard, Keb’ draws listeners in with a warm smile and earthy…

To help denote the 45th anniversary of the release of Machine Head, we asked subscribers to Vintage Guitar’s electronic newsletter, “What are your three favorite Ritchie Blackmore songs, riffs, or…

Jazz Lenser, Guitar Lover
Photographer/jazzographer Bob Barry is a busy man. Of course he enjoys frequent personal appearances at galleries and events showcasing his art, but his duties on the board of directors for…
When Hubert Sumlin sideman Sean Chambers played a gig with Savoy Brown bassist Pat DeSalvo and drummer Garnet Grimm, the result was blues-rock ecstasy. Live From Daryl’s House Club is the next best thing to being there. Fans of incendiary slide playing and Rory Gallagher, look no further. How did you meet Pat and Garnet?I
On Lari Basilio’s latest record, Redemption, art and life collide to make beautiful music. Effortless instrumental guitar techniques merge with rib-sticking melodies to captivate and astonish. Bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta are back to add rhythmic fire, but Basilio’s muse is life’s challenges and, of course, super cool gear. You became a mother.
A songwriting blues-rocker in the purist sense, Dudley Taft is succeeding in an era when nothing comes easy for his ilk. His new album, The Speed of Life, required a departure from the norm; while his previous three were recorded at his own studio in Cincinnati, this one used down time during a European tour

Resophonic Resonance
Dobro master Jerry Douglas’ first solo album in seven years, The Set mixes old and new compositions painting gorgeous rural landscapes with his amazing band. Cello and violin mingle with…

More Players, More Music
The Steepwater Band, based in Chicago, has been a trio for most of its career, purveying guitar-based Americana. Guitarist Jeff Massey, bassist Tod Bowers, and drummer Joseph Winters recently added…

Heaven Sent
It’s impossible to overstate the influence Led Zeppelin’s “untitled” fourth album – call it IV, ZoSo, Runes, Four Symbols, whatever – has had on musicians of all stripes. Released November…

Back to the Bread ’N Butter
After a decade pushing his craft to new creative realms, Dallas-based guitarist Andy Timmons is once again purveying original instrumental guitar rock. His 2006 album, Resolution, was his band’s last…
Advocate of the Atkins Legacy
Photo: Brian Blauser Experiencing a Tommy Emmanuel performance is one of those “You-shoulda-been-there” musical epiphanies. Emmanuel strides onstage with his acoustic guitar, displaying a self-assured countenance under his widow’s peak,…
Emmett Chapman, inventor of the Chapman Stick, died at his home on November 1. He was 85 and had battled cancer. An innovative jazz guitarist, Chapman played a long-scale nine-string…
Acclaimed as bassist for The Flower Kings, Jonas Reingold is a master four-stringer. He’s recorded with many artists, including Jon Anderson (of Yes), and has become an integral part of Steve Hackett’s band, re-creating the complex bottom of early Genesis. Twenty years ago, Reingold started the prog group Karmakanic (repeat it slowly a few times),
Tommy Emmanuel is a real guitarist in its truest sense. On Live At The Sydney Opera House, he stands onstage with only an acoustic guitar, and mesmerizes a packed house. His virtuosity employs country, Celtic, and folk fingerpicking styles that lift the spirit. The set is loaded with fan favorites, but a song suggestion from
After landing on American shores in 2002 to study bluegrass, then shifting into a career as a country singer/songwriter/picker, Jedd Hughes has spent 20 years on an alternate – but rewarding – path as A-list session player and touring sideman. While being busy tempered his flow of original music, in 2014, he returned to songwriting.
As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band weren’t going to be millionaires anytime soon. So he did what musicians do – side-hustled. But when most were manning the counter at a music shop or serving tables, Harris was up at the crack
If you’re making a list of beloved bands with a long string of hook-heavy hits, the Doobie Brothers will surely be on it. Their new album, Walk This Road, features the creative core of vocalist/guitarist Patrick Simmons, vocalist/guitarist Tom Johnston, multi-instrumentalist John McFee, and vocalist/keyboardist Michael McDonald. The news of Walk This Road generated significant
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from the golden age of electric-guitar innovation to the modern world. Beyond simply studying the history, he lived it, documented it, and played alongside giants who

Best Of Both Worlds
Greg Howe enjoyed a somewhat overwhelming reception when he appeared in the Carvin booth at the January NAMM show. One of rock-fusion’s most forward-thinking guitarists, he was there to launch…
The Reluctant Expatriate
Guitarist Walter Trout resides in California, but the acclaim for his ferocious, blues-based playing tends to resound from the right side of the North Atlantic. Trout’s albums and tours are…

Rock legend’s thunderous return Forty years after “Fantasy,” Canadian rock legend Aldo Nova has returned with two new projects. One is a semi-autobiographical rock opera called “The Life and Times…

Shadows and (Erstwhile) Short-Scale Basses
Veteran bassist Jack Bruce is back in action with a new album and tour. Best known for his membership in the legendary British trio, Cream (with Eric Clapton and drummer…

1944-2014
Guitarist, soul singer, and songwriter Bobby Womack passed away June 27. He was 70 and had suffered from diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. Womack’s career spanned more than 50 years. His…
The Story of the Back Street Crawler
For a scant few years beginning in the mid 1960s, Great Britain was responsible for producing arguably the finest crop of rock guitarists ever. It began with Eric Clapton, who…
Country's Newest Star Keeps Nashville Tele-tuned
If you need proof that few popular music stars are as comfortable as Brad Paisley wearing the “star hat,” watch his video for his latest single, “Celebrity,” a comedic jab…

To help denote the 45th anniversary of the release of Machine Head, we asked subscribers to Vintage Guitar’s electronic newsletter, “What are your three favorite Ritchie Blackmore songs, riffs, or…

Musical Combustion
New from Oz Noy and Andrew Synowiec is a guitar team-up highlighting hot licks, high energy, and strong songwriting. The album is Recreational Substance, and post-bop note density is the…

Detroit Rock Royalty
Playing Detroit in 2013, Joe Bonamassa had a special treat in store for the crowd. “The best, most badass guitar legend that ever came out of this town,” he declared.…
Not Surf, Rock
Blasting surf/instro rock and roll from Mexico City to Conan in supersonic guitar style, it’s… Los Straitjackets! Besides a silver-sparkle DiPinto guitar staring you in the face, you’ll find a typical…

Stand Up
In a recording career that spans 30 years and includes 18 albums of his own and 28 more tributes and compilations, Eric Gales has earned a reputation for blindingly fast…

Breezin’ With The Boss of Jazz Guitar
Grammy winner and music legend George Benson has lived a guitarist’s dream. Bridging the gap between pop and jazz helped him sell millions of albums and made him a figurehead…
Thomas Michael (T.M.) Stevens, a world-renowned bassist whose career saw him back artists in a range of styles, died March 10 after suffering with dementia for several years. He was…
Recalling the Music
Bassist/vocalist/songwriter Greg Lake came to notice in 1969 as member of King Crimson and his membership in Emerson, Lake and Palmer cemented his place in the pantheon of progressive-rock icons.…
Wylde's Kingdom
As a teenager, Zakk Wylde gained notoriety as one of the hottest young guitarists playing the New Jersey Shore bar circuit. He got his big break in ’87, when he…

More Personal
After landing on American shores in 2002 to study bluegrass, then shifting into a career as a country singer/songwriter/picker, Jedd Hughes has spent 20 years on an alternate – but…

Guitar Icon
George Fullerton, whose decades-long association with Leo Fender earned the two early electric-guitar innovators a place in history, He died July 4, 2009 at the age of 86. He succumbed…

“A Bunch of Twangy Guitars”
Buck Owens’ track to stardom had an unorthodox start and believe it or not, his singing didn’t launch that journey as much as his guitar skills; it started when another…

Smooth, Funky Blues With Soul Kid Andersen worked with Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop before scoring his current gig with Rick Estrin & the Nightcats. One of the best blues…

Classic Bands, Classic Songs
When he joined Atlanta Rhythm Section in early 1972, J.R. Cobb and Barry Bailey had more in common than simply being the band’s co-guitarists. Like Bailey (VG, December ’16), Cobb…