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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
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.…
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Sean Chambers
Shoulders Of A Legend
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
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Lari Basilio
The Artist’s Way
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.
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Dudley Taft
Life At Full Speed
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
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
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…
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Jonas Reingold
Bass Mechanic
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),
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Tommy Emmanuel
One-Man Orchestra
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
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Jedd Hughes
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 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.
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Classics: Norman Harris
Rare Pioneer
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
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The Doobie Brothers
Road Rules
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
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“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 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
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
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…
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…
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…
