• 2025 December Issue on Spotify

    Artists

    2025 December Issue on Spotify

    This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free or available without ads via a paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,” or if you already have an account Listen to

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Eric Bibb

Beyond the Blues

It’s almost a curse to categorize a musician a “blues artist,” as it implies someone who simply plays standard I-IV-V chord progressions and variations. Eric Bibb is well beyond that.…

Festive Frets

Suggested Listening for Your “Guitholidays”

Listen to VG’s “Festive Frets Holiday Play List” on Spotify! From the two-string refrain that kicks off Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” to the rejuvenated acoustic blues of John Fahey…

Danny Kortchmar

Family Reunion

Fifty years ago, singer/songwriters like James Taylor, Carole King, and Jackson Browne were busy conquering the rock charts; behind them, you could hear crack guitarists like Danny Kortchmar and Waddy…

Have Guitar Will Travel – 029 Featuring Greg Koch

Episode 29 of James Patrick Regan’s “Have Guitar Will Travel” podcast features “The Gristlemaster,” Greg Koch, who talks about his current tour, his guitar collection, the signature models he has…

Dave Alvin

Blast Back to the Ashgrove

The Ashgrove was more than a club; it was a legend. Tucked away on Hollywood’s Melrose Avenue, founder Ed Pearl booked bands from Lightnin’ Hopkins to Bill Monroe and everything…

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…

Check This Action: Folk Festival of Blues

I heard blues records earlier than I can remember. My dad had Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee albums, and a family friend had records by Lead Belly and Jesse Fuller.…

Jonny Lang

Signs of the Blues

Since bursting on the scene in the ’90s while still a teenager, Jonny Lang has stayed true to his vision, merging blues and rock, often leaning to the bluesy part…

Les Sabler

Long-Distance Jazz

Like many musicians, guitarist Les Sabler’s life has been turned topsy-turvy by the worldwide pandemic. Originally from Montreal, Sabler now resides in Nashville, but work on his newest album, a…

Vinny Roth

Classified Recording

Photos courtesy Vinny Roth. Vinny Roth’s new record, 2 Stratz are Better Than 1, is a collection of his favorite styles. “It’s kind of a resume of what I do,”…

Letritia Kandle

and the Magnificent Grand Letar

Run down the list of early electric-guitar innovators and an all-male group typically comes to mind – Les Paul, Alvino Rey, Charlie Christian, Merle Travis, and the like. However, Letritia…

Pop ’N Hiss: Be Bop Deluxe’s Live! In the Air Age

Atmospheric Axes

For a shining moment, the eclectic British quartet Be Bop Deluxe rose above an upheaval in rock and pop in the late ’70s, as fresh hard rock and Southern bands…

Toronzo Cannon

Blues The Chicago Way

“I’m not trying to be a starving artist at 48 years old,” says blues man Toronzo Cannon when asked if he’d consider playing blues full-time. A bus driver for the…

In Memoriam: Tony “T.S. McPhee

Groundhogs leader Tony “T.S.” McPhee ranked with the greatest British blues guitarists, whether solo acoustic or ensemble electric, slide or fretted. He died June 6 at 79. McPhee’s ability to…

Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez

Blues Is Everywhere

6’2″/300-pound Phil “Big Dez” Fernandez is an international emissary of the blues. The French-born son of a Bosnian mother and Spanish father is a favorite at European blues clubs and…

Toronzo’s Tasty Blues!

Chicago Blues Master plays “Something To Do, Man” More than “just” a great blues player, Toronzo Cannon is an outspoken supporter and fan of the form. His dedication extends to…

Phil Manzanera’s “Magdalena”

Roxy Music legend solo instrumental Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera used his beloved ’64 Gibson Firebird VII to create this exclusive run through “Magdalena,” one of five new tunes on…

Ray Edenton

1926-2022

Ray Edenton, acknowledged rhythm-guitar master of Nashville’s A-Team, died September 21 at his home in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. He was 95, and retired in 1991, after over 15,000 sessions. “There was…

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #9

Ray Cummins – Guitar Tutorial #9 For his ninth exclusive lesson for VG, Ray Cummins shows how to play a melodic version of “Danny Boy” fingerstyle and with a pick,…

Donald Duck Dunn

Donald “Duck” Dunn

"Duck’s" Gaggle: The Basses of Donald Dunn

Nearly every musician who plays popular music – be it soul, R&B, pop, or the others – has been influenced by Donald “Duck” Dunn. And certainly, every person who has…

Larry Reinhardt

Waxes Sufficiently

Larry Reinhardt’s world nearly collapsed in 1991, when a car accident mangled his left hand. The former guitarist for Captain Beyond and Iron Butterfly hadn’t known anything else since the…

Jerry Douglas

Slide Ruler – Jerry Douglas’ Love Affair with the Dobro

You know, it’s the coolest-looking instrument that ever was made!” It should come as no surprise that Jerry Douglas is speaking about the Dobro and the various other resonator-equipped guitars…

Whitey Kirst

Life After Iggy

Whitey Kirst is known for smoldering lead-guitar tone and collaborating with punk-rock pioneer Iggy Pop. After four albums and hundreds of shows, Kirst’s 13-year tenure with Iggy went on hiatus…

Southern Boogie from Chickasaw Mudd Puppies

Band jams on acoustic “Flatcar” take “The South is a complex and nuanced place,” says Ben Reynolds of his native Georgia. Geography and Southern bands have for decades influenced his…

Jabrille “Jimmy James” Williams

Old Soul, Fresh Sounds

Seattle’s Jabrille “Jimmy James” Williams is a rare find in the guitar universe. At a time when music influences run the gamut producing a mishmash of styles, James keeps it…

Del Casher

Wah-Wahs, Ecco-Fonics and the W Coast Studio Scene

Photo: Preston L. Gtatiot PART 1 …and other earlier gizmos as well. Del Casher (nee Del “Kacher;” the reasons for the name change are forthcoming) has for decades been a…

Allan Holdsworth

1946-2017, Lion of Legato

Music fans were relaxing on Easter Sunday when word of Allan Holdsworth’s death began filtering about, bringing shock to the guitar community. For 45 years, Holdsworth had been one of…

Eric Gales

Reinvigorated Blues

Over the years, there have been instances when one renowned blues-rock guitarist or another found sobriety in the nick of time and got their career back on track. Eric Clapton,…

Pop ’N Hiss: Bad Company

Powerful Purity

Bad Company’s self-titled 1974 debut album defines “classic rock” – no frills, just superb songs and performances from four gifted musicians. The British quartet was one of the first rock…

John Osborne

Feelin’ Fearless

 Brothers Osborne play a distinctive version of 21-century country music. Rising above trendy themes and sounds like tailgate anthems and hip-hop beats, their path mixes traditional and new sounds with…