“I FaceTimed with her parents and said, ‘I like your daughter’s playing. She’s a natural. She plays like Gary Moore’”: How 22-year-old Anna Cara landed the gig of a lifetime with Alice Cooper

22-year-old guitar ace Anna Cara has looked back on how she landed the gig of a lifetime in Alice Cooper's band.

When Cara was hand-picked by shred veteran Nita Strauss to fill in during her maternity leave from her long-standing tenure with Cooper, the young guitarist wasn't just stepping into Strauss' shoes – she was also carrying forward a guitar legacy that included Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter, Kane Roberts, Vinnie Moore, and Orianthi.

“You’ve got to be adept at learning a whole spectrum of music,” longtime Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie says of the gig in the latest issue of Guitar World.

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“When I heard Anna play, I knew right from the get-go that she’s cut from a different cloth. She can play mechanical shredder stuff with ease but also can slip into classic rock mode at the drop of a hat.”

It was Tommy Henriksen, Cooper’s other guitarist, who discovered Cara, likening her tone and style to the late Gary Moore as soon as he spotted her on social media.

"Anna Cara Guitar Solo & Brutal Planet" Alice Cooper@Freedom Pavilion Camden, NJ 5/9/26 - YouTube

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Henrikson tells Guitar World, “I kept telling Ryan, ‘You’ve got to see this kid play, man.’ She’s got that thing. I can’t explain it. There’s not many people who have it, but she’s got it.”

Henrikson initially scouted Cara for his own band, Crossbow Skully, after scouring YouTube and Instagram for promising musicians.

“She never showed her face, just her playing guitar,” he remembers. “She wasn’t doing all that stupid stuff – not posing or anything. I sent her a message and said, ‘I love what you’re doing. You’ve got great vibrato and feel. Can I call you and your parents?’

“I didn’t know how old she was,” Henrikson adds. “I FaceTimed with them and said, ‘I like your daughter’s playing. She’s a natural. She plays like Gary Moore. She’s got the vibrato of a 55-year-old man.’”

“I said, ‘I’m putting together a band. I’m going to call you. Be show-ready. You’re going to be going on a plane to L.A.’”

As soon as she landed at LAX, Henriksen (casually) drove her to a Hollywood star's home studio.

He continues, “This kid has never been out of Newcastle, and now she’s at Johnny Depp’s house. Johnny goes, ‘Let her play any guitar she wants,’ so I handed her Johnny’s guitar. That’s how she wound up working with me.”

Cara explains that she was discovered when she was just 19, and, as she herself puts it, “There have been years of development, and I’ve become a better musician and live player.”

Therefore, when Strauss announced that she needed a maternity cover, Henrikson knew who to put forward for the gig.

“Alice was looking for a guitar player, and I said, ‘Do you want a girl or a guy? I’ve got either/or,’” says Henriksen. “But the first thing I did was send Anna’s stuff to Ryan because I wanted him to see her. Ryan heard her play and said, ‘I see it. I hear it.’

“Next thing you know, he’s [Cooper] like, “Let’s bring her to Vegas to watch the show and get her familiar with everything.”

Strauss has not yet announced a specific return date to the band, so those hoping to catch a glimpse of Cara’s talent can do so during Alice Cooper’s upcoming fall run.

Head to Alice Cooper for a full list of dates.

For more from the Alice Cooper guitar triumvirate, plus new interviews with Ziggy Marley and Brian Setzer, pick up issue 607 of Guitar World from Magazines Direct.