Steve Rothery

Prog with a Purpose

Marillion has been playing thought-provoking neo-prog since its 1983 debut album, Script for a Jester’s Tear. Along the way, the group has issued classic releases of the genre including Misplaced…

Have Guitar Will Travel 097 – Oliver Wood (the Wood Brothers)

In episode 97 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with Oliver Wood (of the Wood Brothers), who shares the story about how he and his brother,…

Philip Sayce

Proactive Perseverance

Philip Sayce is a living, breathing, godmonster beast on the Stratocaster. But his chops, tone, feel, and great songs don’t come out of thin air. The man works hard. His…

Yates McKendree

Blues Emotion

Yates McKendree hasn’t yet turned 22, but he has already digested a lifetime’s worth of American roots music. The proof is in his debut album, Buchanan Lane, which is named…

João Erbetta: Eclectic instrumentalist

Five-guitar run on “Bubbles” João Erbetta’s all-instrumental album, “Los Angeles,” is eclectic and quirky. Here, the guitarist/banjoist/bassist/keyboardist/steel-guitarist plays five guitars made by fellow Brazilians to blend jazz with country for…

Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks

Minds Made Up

Collaborations have rendered some of the greatest tunes in the history of music. Whittle the subject to “just” guitarists, and the truth remains – two are often better than one.…

Tim O’Brien

Trailbrazing Triple-Threat

If Tim O’Brien was a ballplayer, he’d be at least a “triple threat.” He’s a superb songwriter, a stellar mandolin player, a unique singer, and a powerful live performer. Born…

Brian Tarquin

Music, Books, and Bookings

Brian Tarquin is thriving in “steady as ya’ go” mode. Since his VG  interview in February ’15, he has released two CDs and compiled a book on guitar amplifiers. The…

Dave Gant’s Amp Collection

Key Collection: Nashville pro Dave Gant fosters an impressive gathering of amps

Dave Gant grew up in Ada, Oklahoma, and while the city of 17,000 will never be confused with Memphis or Nashville in terms of musical impact, it is the birthplace…

Classics: September 2021

Fenton Robinson’s Gibson ES-225

Kevin Ludwig first became aware of Fenton Robinson in 1975, when he heard Boz Scaggs’ version of “Somebody Loan Me a Dime,” which spurred him to buy Robinson’s 1974 Alligator…

Dan Wilson’s celebration of jazz legends

Homage with Superb Musicality On his latest album, “Things Eternal,” jazz wizard Dan Wilson fuses post-bop, spirituality, and the songs of Stevie Wonder into a satisfying musical journey. Here, Dan…

Steve Cropper

Looking Back at Stax

The gloriously soulful music recorded by Stax Records is still entertaining listeners six decades after its release, and the label has been celebrating its 60th anniversary with a reissue campaign.…

Wayne Kramer

1948-2024

Guitarist and activist Wayne Kramer, best known as a founder of the iconic Detroit hard-rock band MC5, died in a Los Angeles hospital on February 2. He was 75 and…

Ruyter Suys

Loud and Proud

Nashville Pussy is fronted by the husband-and-wife team of Blaine Cartwright and Ruyter Suys. Its new album, Up The Dosage, is the band’s first in five years, and it’s jammed…

Tinsley Ellis

A True Keg-Party Jammer

It may be the southernmost point in the country, but growing up in southern Florida is neither exciting or exotic for most people (sorry Miami Vice). While things can be…

Cliff Gallup

Crazy Fingers

There was a custom at Owen Bradley Film & Recording Studios in Nashville; artists cut vocal tracks with backing from Bradley’s crack team of session musicians including guitarists Grady Martin, Hank…

Jimmy Bryant

Country-Jazz Virtuoso

When Leo Fender strode into a cowboy bar on the outskirts of Hollywood one day in 1950, he had no idea the contraption he was toting would become a central…

Bob Brozman

World Instruments, World Music

Photo courtesy Bob Brozman. To many, the terms “musician,” “artist,” and “entertainer” are rarely applicable to one person en masse, but Bob Brozman fits the category. What’s more, the term…

John Leventhal

Tele-Singing Architect of Americana

When Shawn Colvin’s Steady On won a Grammy in 1989, John Leventhal was instantly transformed from NYC sideman to in-demand producer, songwriter, and player. The first to call were Rodney…

Bryan Sutton

Into His Own

Bryan Sutton ranks as one of the most accomplished and in-demand acoustic players in Nashville. In 1991, fresh from high school, he joined the gospel group Karen Peck and New…

Micki Free

Feel and Tone

  He was the real-life team member on the infamous Charlie Murphy/Prince basketball game parodied on “Chappelle’s Show,” but Grammy winner Micki Free’s latest is bursting with the sounds of…

Uli Jon Roth

Return to Tokyo

In the 1970s, rockers were cranking out now-classic live sets with stunning regularity – Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys in 1970, the Allman Brothers’ At Fillmore East in ’71, Deep…

Sue Foley

Femme Flamenco

In a time when pop-music performers rely heavily on post-recording fix-ups and pre-recorded tracks onstage, it’s refreshing – even admirable – when someone takes the “honest road.” Singer/guitarist Sue Foley…

Ana Popovic

Memphis via Belgrade

Ana Popovic was but a toddler when she started to absorb major musical mojo through her father’s love of the blues, classic rock, and most importantly, thanks to the rec-room…

Selwyn Birchwood

Blistering Blues

If you think the days of ferocious blues guitar are behind us, cue up Selwyn Birchwood’s latest, Exorcist. Within its grooves are blistering licks galore and the Florida guitarist’s powerful…

Remembering Vic Flick

From Bond to the Beatles

The music world lost session legend Vic Flick on November 17, at age 87. While not a household name, Flick’s soundtrack riff in James Bond movies became one of the…

Sonny Burgess

1929-2017

Sonny Burgess, one of the last of the great Sun Records stars, died August 18. He was 88 and had been performing with his old band, the Pacers. Burgess was…

Blake Aaron

Melodic Passion

Blake Aaron’s fifth solo release, Soul Stories, features eight originals and a couple of covers that have at least one thing in common. Each instrumental relies heavily on the listener…

Mike Campbell

Still Thrilled

Boiled down, the music of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers is defined by a handful of essential elements: their leader’s character-filled voice, songs about life and its toils, swirling B-3…

Bo Diddley

1928-2008

Bo Diddley. Photo: F. Scott Schafer. Rock-and-roll pioneer Bo Diddley died of heart failure June 2 at his home in Florida. He was 79 years old. Born Otha EllasBates in…