Some have called him a future guitar god, and with good reason. At age 21, Tyler Bryant's resume already reads like a guitarist who's been performing for a long time. Before he had even reached the legal voting age, Bryant was awarded the Robert Johnson Foundation’s New Generation Award and was chosen by Eric Clapton to play at his Crossroads Guitar Festival.

Six years into the history of In This Moment, founding members Maria Brink and Chris Howorth were at a crossroad: The vocalist and lead guitarist were now a duo, contemplating the band’s future while preparing to write and record what would become their new album, Blood.

Inside the cavernous main recording room at Studio 606—the nerve center of Foo Fighters HQ — a guitar tech pores over a pedal board propped up on a road case. The Foo Fighters are about to embark on a world tour to promote their new album, Wasting Light, and the road crew is busily primping the guitar rigs.

Three seasons ago, NBC launched its music competition program, The Voice. At the helm each week to produce and mix every song that is sold on iTunes is Bill Appleberry, whose studio credentials include triple-platinum R&B group Shai, Stone Temple Pilots, Puddle of Mudd, and rock band Adema, whom he also discovered and developed. Appleberry also is a highly respected keyboardist, engineer and arranger.