• Ally Venable

    Artists

    Ally Venable

    Connection

    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

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The Bangles

Yesterdays… and Today

The Bangles are back! After a 10-year separation, the band that rose to prominence in the 1980s with such hits as “Manic Monday” and “Walk Like an Egyptian” reunited in…

Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger

1919-2014

Renowned folk singer/songwriter, musicologist, organizer, and political activist Pete Seeger died January 27 at a hospital in New York City. He was 94 and passed from natural causes. Seeger was…

Sharon Isbin

New Paths for Classical Guitar

Photo: Takehiko Tokiwa. Sharon Isbin is regarded as one of the premier classical guitarists of her generation, playing 60 to 100 concerts per season and earning a Grammy early this…

Lloyd Green

From the A Team to Americana

Lloyd Green with the the signature model pedal-steel guitar he designed for the Sho-Bud company in 1973. Prior to this, a single on a double-neck cabinet with pad didn’t exist.…

Tommy Skeoch

Rock and Roll Forever

Tommy Skeoch is revered for delivering guitar tone with equal parts attitude and guttural conviction. Since his departure from Tesla in 2006, he has kept busy teaching and recorded two…

John Pizzarelli

From Stage to Seven-String

The John Pizzarelli Trio is back on the road supporting its latest album, Stage and Screen. Joined by Isaiah J. Thompson on piano and Michael Karn on double bass, Pizzarelli…

Brennen Leigh

Honky Tonk Woman

Country singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Brennen Leigh has no shortage of gifts, ably documented on her latest album, Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet, and it’s heart-yanking single “Running Out of…

Wishbone Ash

Powell, Manninen, and <em>Elegant Stealth</em>

Fans of Wishbone Ash will consider the group’s newest release, Elegant Stealth, the type of innovative guitar music they’ve grown to expect. Since 2004, guitarist/vocalist Andy Powell and his V-shaped…

Philip Sayce’s Guitar Meditation

Exploring, Expanding Absorbing and exuding great vibes from his living room, Philip Sayce and his PRS Silver Sky (plugged into a ’68 Super Reverb) play “Lady Love Divine,” one of…

50 Years Ago Today

The Beatles Conquer America

Sunday, February 9, 1964, was the day that forever changed music and pop culture. “The Ed Sullivan Show” was one of the most popular television programs in the United States…

Tomas Janzon swings on “Ascending”

Silky-Smooth on a vintage hollowbody Hip as all get-out, Tomas Janzon plays some of the silkiest jazz you’ll hear this year. Here, he demonstrates on “Ascending,” a track from his…

Mick Box

Deep Heep

It’s hard to believe, but there is only one member still with us from the classic early-’70s Uriah Heep lineup that gave us classic albums like Demons and Wizards, The…

Barry Bailey

Guitarist Barry Bailey, co-founder of the Atlanta Rhythm Section and acclaimed studio musician, died March 13 in Madison, Georgia. He was 73 and battled multiple sclerosis for 17 years. Bailey…

Shredding and songcraft – Kire Najdovski

Talas guitarist offers taste of “1985” Kire Najdovski does a great take on “Close to the Killer,” from Talas’ new album, “1985.” “I’m playing the Custom Shop ’58 Les Paul…

John Pizzarelli Swings On A Vintage D’angelico

Jazz Ace on an Heirloom Guitar For this exclusive rendition of “Just In Time,” swing ace John Pizzarelli grabbed the D’Angelico Model B that was played by his late (and…

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Joe Bonamassa

Driving

Joe Bonamassa’s latest record, Driving Towards The Daylight, is a return to the blues. After two successful studio albums with the heavy-rock band Black Country Communion, Bonamassa’s latest solo effort…

Lord Bizarre

Bedlam in Belgium: Electric Guitar & Amp Museum

Ivan “Lord Bizarre” Symaeys with a 1965 Wandré Bikini and an assortment of guitars. All photos by Joe Bigley. When most Americans think of Belgium, it’s usually beer, chocolate, or…

Robbie Robertson

The Many Sides of

It’s difficult to say which is more ironic: the fact that Robbie Robertson, one of rock guitar’s true stylists, is more famous for his songwriting, or that beneath the minimal,…

Joe Satriani

Satch's Surfin' Turns 20

Photo: Lisa Sharken. It’s been 20 years since the release of Joe Satriani’s landmark album, Surfin’ with the Alien , the instrumental platter that put “shred guitar” on the map…

Johnny Nicholas

Full-Circle in Louisiana

Johnny Nicholas has been playing “roots music” since long before the term existed. A childhood friend of Duke Robillard, he has jammed with his blues heroes in Chicago, and for…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guests Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen

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…

Dan Hawkins

Toast of the Town

When The Darkness roared out of England with its 2003 debut Permission to Land and the hit “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” the music world was slapped across…

The Uncanny Approach of Walter Strauss

Fingerstylist melds melodies, polyrhythms, and visceral picking on “Fabara” Walter Strauss shows his extraordinary technique with help from his Sexauer JB-16 while playing “Fabara,” a song from latest album, “For…

James Elkington

Windy City Diversity

James Elkington tweaked the paradigm when he began working at a luthier shop before hitting his stride as a guitarist. Born and raised in a small English village northwest of…

Corb Lund’s (Acoustic) Roots Rock!

Low-key in the living room Corb Lund rescued his ’80s Kramer Ferrington from a hair ballad so he could use it to play this exclusive take on “Out On A…

Anne McCue

Comes Into Her Own

As impressive as 2004’s Roll was, the eclectic Koala Motel (on Messenger Records) represents a major step up in Anne McCue’s playing and especially songwriting. Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, John…

Banjo Master Tony Trischka Plays “Chinese Breakdown”

Prime “Earl Jam” sample! One of the most influential figures in roots music, Tony Trischka, master of the five-string, shows us how he does it on “Chinese Breakdown,” from his…

Jimmy Olander’s D-Bender Baritone

 Big-string licks galore! In the mood to play a bit, December cover guy Jimmy Olander grabbed a guitar he calls “…a very special beast.” A baritone built by Diamond…

In Memoriam: Anthony Klassen

Anthony R. Klassen, a guitar builder and founder of New Era Guitars, passed away December 13 at his home in Furnessville, Indiana. He was 62. In 1977, Klassen got a…

The Rascals’ Gene Cornish

Wild Legacy

Gene Cornish is fond of the time he spent in the ’60s pop band The Rascals, which he credits for having never been sidetracked or making a bad decision… until…