blues

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Lowell George playing a Fender Strat while wearing a cowboy hat

He's one of the greatest slide guitarists in rock history – now a tribute album to Little Feat and Mothers of Invention guitarist Lowell George is on the way

By Janelle Borg published

Elvis Costello, Ben Harper and Dave Alvin are among those paying tribute to the work of the late slide virtuoso

B.B. King

“When I play the trill with my finger, my hand is not on the neck at all. It all comes from the wrist”: The story of B.B. King, the greatest blues guitar player of all time

By Neville Marten published

How the King of the Blues heard his calling, found a guitar, and developed a style that made him the undisputed greatest of all time

Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, Eric Gales

“So well-versed in the art of blues that B.B. King said ‘he was like another one of my sons’”: 12 blues guitar albums that chart the genre – and the instrument’s – evolution

By Ellie Rogers published

From Son House to Eric Gales, John Lee Hooker to Albert Collins, these classics highlight how blues guitar has changed over the years – its stories, tones and techniques all passed down and reinvented

Jesse Dayton performs on Day Two of 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on April 29, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

“A lot of kids are getting millions of hits because they can play Eruption. If you want to impress me, write Eruption”: Jesse Dayton is glad he didn’t have a hit years ago – it might have taken away his freedom

By Andrew Daly published

Fresh from his “Bonnie and Clyde” success with Samantha Fish, the six-string outlaw talks low-string droning, Texas storytelling and why it’s worth struggling with vintage gear – in the studio at least

Robin Trower

A Stratocaster master and stompbox pioneer with an astonishing vibrato, Robin Trower's blues guitar style is up there with the best

By David Gerrish published

Learn the licks of the British blues guitar great who took Hendrix's six-string revolution and ran with it

Jimmy Herring

Jimmy Herring has lent his talents to the Allman Brothers Band and Derek Trucks – he’s a play-anything virtuoso who can fuse jazz, blues and rock together like no other

By John Wheatcroft published

Herring marries the harmonic sophistication of jazz to the power of rock and blues, and this lesson will knock your picking articulation and chord changes into shape

Cedric Burnside

“I know what it’s like to wake up and not having anything to eat… My blues comes out differently than somebody who just plays the blues because they like it”: Cedric Burnside on living the blues – and why he plays guitars built by a brain surgeon

By Phil Weller published

Cedric Burnside’s style of country blues is deep, deceptively complex, and unafraid of sending in a curveball – because if it feels right it is right

Joe Bonamassa plays a Gibson Les Paul Standard onstage at the Fox Theater, MI

“What makes a great blues player is taking on influences that aren’t blues-based”: Joe Bonamassa explains why the best guitarists always look beyond the blues

By Andrew Daly published

The guitar phenom offers his own definition of greatness, and reveals his 3 best guitars for blues

Buddy Guy, live onstage with his Stratocaster in 2023

Learn the greatest licks from over 100 years of trailblazing blues guitarists, from Robert Johnson to B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales and more

By Richard Barrett published

These 15 must-learn licks take you from blues guitar's acoustic beginnings to its electric present day

Gary Clark Jr.

“I could have headed towards blues or shred. I chose blues… Fast-forward to 2020, I decided to become a 12 year-old learning guitar again – I went the other way and got an Ibanez with a Floyd Rose!” Gary Clark Jr. is finally unleashing his inner shredder

By Amit Sharma published

On his powerful and experimental new album, Gary Clark Jr. is channeling the pioneering spirit of the greats and finding new shades of blue

Shuggie Otis plays a reversed Stratocaster onstage in 2015

All your favorite guitarists know how to lock into a groove with their leads – and learning to solo deep in the pocket will elevate your style immensely

By Andy Aledort published

In this video and tab lesson, inspired by the Shuggie Otis classic Me and My Woman, we're thinking rhythmically while we're soloing, which is an essential skill for any player

Eric johnson Michael Landau

“Monster lineup here”: Eric Johnson and Michael Landau honor Jeff Beck with a fretboard-burning Freeway Jam cover

By Phil Weller published

The two Stratocaster masters recently shared the stage for a Beck-honoring jam

Martin Miller with his Ibanez signature guitar

Martin Miller literally wrote the book on Modern Rock Guitar Soloing – so who better to show you how to get more from your minor pentatonic and blues solos?

By Martin Miller published

The German guitarist, composer, producer, educator and Ibanez signature artist shows you how to navigate a blues-pop ballad, with licks inspired by Steve Lukather, David Gilmour and Joe Bonamassa

Tyler Bryant Fender Strat ‘Pinky’

“It was found in the trunk of a car. They had sanded it to make it look like it wasn’t mine”: Tyler Bryant's stolen Pinky One Strat was played by Jeff Beck, inscribed by Steven Tyler – and, miraculously, returned to him five years after it was taken

By Matt Parker published

The blues-rock guitarist recalls the loss – and remarkable recovery – of his most significant six-string

Connor Selby with his Gibson ES-125, a fortuitous Gumtree find that has since joined Connor on tours with Beth Hart and Robert Cray

“I’ve always favoured humbuckers. They’re what my heroes used – Clapton, BB King and Paul Kossoff”: Connor Selby on his greatest gear hits and misses, and the Gibson ES-125 that was the bargain of the century

By David Mead published

The up-and-coming blues ace stops by to talk all things gear: the buying, the selling, and the regrets along the way

Joe Bonamassa with the first black Stratocaster ever made

“The first time I saw Ronnie, he was playing a Strat through two Super Reverbs – the sound was larger than life”: Joe Bonamassa reaches for his dream guitar to dissect the brilliance of East Coast blues great Ronnie Earl

By Joe Bonamassa published

The Howard A. Reed 1955 black Fender Stratocaster is put through its paces once more in tribute to one of blues guitar's GOATs

Sue Foley live onstage with her Paisley Telecaster

“If you don’t have good tone with just your amp and your guitar, ain’t no pedal gonna help you”: Sue Foley is dropping truth bombs and nylon-string blues in her tribute to the pioneering women of guitar

By Jim Beaugez published

One Guitar Woman finds Sue Foley getting technically adventurous as she covers Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Memphis Minnie and Maybelle Carter

Brian Setzer (left) jamming with Lee Rocker of Stray Cats: Setzer has a masterful repertoire of jazz-inspired rock 'n' roll chords

5 rock ’n’ roll ending chords you need to know

By Richard Barrett published

These jazz-inspired chords will class up any set. Simply add to the conclusion of your jam, et voila!

Dimebag Darrell onstage in 1994 with Pantera

The blues scale isn’t just for blues – it’s been used in some of rock and metal’s biggest riffs and solos, too. Here’s how to make it work for you, no matter what style you play

By Simon Barnard published

It’s one of the essential guitar scales, and this lesson takes the blues scale from its classic context to place it in the style of Joe Satriani, Cream-era Clapton and Dimebag Darrell

Lonnie Mack plays a Flying V live onstage in 1985

Lonnie Mack is an unsung hero in the development of the modern guitar solo – learn the blues guitar pyrotechnics that lit a fire under Stevie Ray Vaughan

By Richard Barrett published

A key influence on SRV classics such as Scuttle Buttin', Lonnie Mack's trailblazing style is worth another look