• Ally Venable

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    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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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.…

Scott Sharrard’s fiery slide!

Little Feat ace plays outro from “You’ll Be Mine” In case you’re wondering how Scott Sharrard got the gig wearing the Little Feat slide shoes once filled by Lowell George…

Pop ’N Hiss: Bruford’s Allan Holdsworth

Landmark Fusion of One of a Kind

Jazz-rock fusion was vastly popular in the mid 1970s, but began to run out of steam as the “smooth jazz” of Spyro Gyra and Chuck Mangione simply became more lucrative.…

Alvin Young-blood Hart

Highly Motivated

Alvin YoungBlood Hart brings the rock! His new album, Motivational Speaker, is a tough, guitar-driven blend of ’70s blues-rock, classic country, and sumptuous slide guitar. Moving beyond the core audience…

Jackie Venson

Emotional Intelligence

Soul-pop stylist Jackie Venson has been conquering the road-warrior touring circuit, and gained an enviable spot on Gary Clark, Jr.’s tour. The Strat-wielding songstress’ new EP, Transcends, extends her melodic…

Bryan Sutton

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…

Jussi Jaakonaho’s beguiling “Beauty Box”

Masterful Tapestry Soak it in as Jussi Jaakonaho and his 1970 Gibson SG Standard jam on ”Beauty Box” through a late-’60s Gibson Falcon amp with tremolo and spring reverb. He…

Charlie Daniels

Same Ol' CD

There are more facets to veteran Charlie Daniels’ entertainment enterprises than many of his fans may realize. Not only has the affable guitarist released 29 albums since 1971, he’s also…

Buddy Guy

Legend Steeped in the Blues

Buddy Guy, Bayfront Blues Festival, 1997. Photo by Ward Meeker. When referring to the all-time great legends of the blues and the guitar, the formidable Buddy Guy comes to mind…

Eliza Gilkyson

Not Your Typical Folkie

“My dad was my biggest influence, especially melodically. He loved dark melodies,” says Eliza Gilkyson of her father, the late Terry Gilkyson. As the title of her latest CD hints,…

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…

Have Guitar Will Travel 074 – Molly Moore with her guitarist Ariel Bellvalaire and MUNA’s Josette Maskin

Episode 74 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” opens with host James Patrick Regan speaking with Molly Moore and her guitarist, Ariel Bellvalaire. Ariel grew up in the Connecticut and moved…

Jim Campilongo

Taking Chances With Kindness

Fans of forward-thinking Telecaster spank and cluck will get a kick out of Jim Campilongo’s new album, Live At Rockwood. What he does with two hands and a guitar plugged…

Walter Jr.

A Taste of (and from) Louisiana

Walter Jr.’s blend of soul, funk, R&B, and everything-in-between never wanders far from home. It’s not hard to tell from his accent, his music, and his laid-back style that he’s…

Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking

Chris Bergson: Heartfelt Pandemic Picking Chris Bergson used his ’60s Teisco to play a bit of his tune, “Hector and Donna,” one of the tracks from his new lockdown-inspired album,…

Jared James Nichols

P-90 Proponent

Ladies and gentlemen, Jared James Nichols is bringing savagery back to rock and roll. His weapon of choice – vintage Les Pauls. His latest self-titled album bristles with ferocity where…

Robert Randolph

Soul Power

“I wasn’t really a Coltrane fan, but when I heard Kind Of Blue I was like, ‘Hell, as long as it’s got soul.’” For sacred-steel specialist Robert Randolph, it’s all…

Kansas’ Leftoverture

Iconic American Prog

Progressive rock emerged from the British psychedelic scene in the late ’60s with bands like the Nice, Procol Harum, Moody Blues, King Crimson, Yes, and Gentle Giant. The genre blossomed…

Steve Ripley In the studio with a miscellany of tools of the trade - everything fom his favorite Tele to a National resoglas.

Steve Ripley

First Takes & Extra Takes

Ed. Note: Guitarist/producer/recording artist/guitar innovator (we could add more to that list!) Steve Ripley has passed away (January 3, 2019) at his home in Pawnee, Oklahoma after battling cancer. He…

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Buzz Feiten

Unsung Hero

An unsung hero, accomplished inventor, and builder possessing priceless musical knowledge, Buzz Feiten’s list of session credits could fill a phone book – from Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King to…

Pop ’N Hiss: Wishbone Ash’s Argus

Twin-Lead Loadstone

Founded in 1969, Wishbone Ash attained fast fame in the U.K. with its meshing of intricate twin-lead-guitar passages and harmony vocals. With their third album, Argus, Andy Powell and Ted…

Kinga Glyk’s four-string tightrope

Star bassist shines on “That Right There” Superstar bassist Kinga Glyk brings everything from funk-fusion virtuosity to booty-moving grooves. With her ’09 Fender Jazz plugged into an Apollo Twin interface,…

Tuck Andress

Fretboard wizard of Tuck and Patti

Since 1978, guitar virtuoso Tuck Andress, recognized as a premier player of jazz and contemporary standard music, has enjoyed one of the most enduring and creative musical partnerships accompanying wife…

Lance Lopez

Supersonic Blues Machine

Lance Lopez is a guitar-slinging blues machine that burns like Texas hot sauce in August. He has scorched the festival circuit for years with an enviable body of work and…

ASIA Symposium

The ASIA Symposium

Kinship and Connections

As much a celebration of kinship as it is an educational forum, the biannual Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans (ASIA) Symposium, held at East Stroudsburg University, in Pennsylvania, is mini…

Gregg Wright

The Shackles Are Off

Gregg Wright’s latest album was forged with fire, intensity, and the music that molded him, from guitar-centric country ballads, boogie, and blues-rock to gospel and fire-breathing rock and roll. A…

Daniele Gottardo

Bittersweetness

Italian guitar virtuoso Daniele Gottardo’s latest album, Inkblot, combines the whimsy and wonder of the great early-20th-century classical composers with mind-blowing modern-rock guitar techniques. Sitting with a chamber orchestra, Gottardo’s…

Check This Action: Walking In Memphis

I first visited Memphis in 1990, and it struck me that radio stations played loads of music from the area. Soul, rockabilly, blues, gospel, country, and jazz – if there…

Adrian Legg

A Moment with the Fingerstyle Wizard

Adrian Legg isn’t your typical gearhead. Oh, he’s a gearhead, alright – he even authored a book entitled Customizing Your Electric Guitar. But for a self-described “guitar nerd,” he can…

Lee Ritenour

40 Years of Keepin'

Lee Ritenour. Lee Ritenour’s solo career continues to glide along with the release of his latest record, Smoke ‘n’ Mirrors, which contains exactly what we’ve come to expect from the…