Henry Yates

Jimmie Vaughan was a garbage man listening to B.B. King. Then he wound up touring with his hero

By Henry Yates published 27 March 26

He once snuck into a B.B. King show aged 13. Now Jimmie Vaughan is part of Joe Bonamassa's all-star tribute to the King of the Blues – he explains how he approached tackling his hero's licks and what he learned from the master

Warren Haynes remembers B.B. King – from being in awe to playing with him

By Henry Yates published 20 March 26

Haynes was one of the many guitar greats whose lives have been changed by B.B. King, and thanks to Joe Bonamassa, he got to pay tribute to him on the song he would have chosen himself

Francis Rossi on the Status Quo groove, Kempers, and his relationship with the late Rick Parfitt

By Henry Yates published 18 March 26

The Quo’s motormouthed frontman had no intention of releasing a new solo album. But with The Accidental, Francis Rossi tells us he’s stumbled across his best work yet

Jason Isbell on the acoustic that was eons in the making and how a stolen guitar brought him into the Martin lineup

By Henry Yates published 16 March 26

Country star Jason Isbell has played Martins ever since he was bailed out by the company after his van was looted… And now he presents new signature models based on his rare pre-war 0-17

Noodling alone at home is fine. But you’ll never be a great guitar player unless you join a band

By Henry Yates published 12 March 26

Leaving the bedroom for the rehearsal room exposed my flaws and smashed my confidence. But if you can stick with it, you’ll have the best laugh of your life and supercharge your playing

Glenn Tilbrook on the resurrection of the Squeeze concept album that never was

By Henry Yates published 10 March 26

Demo’d in ’74, when their compositional skills wrote checks their chops couldn’t cash, Squeeze shelved Trixies for 52 years. Now, Tilbrook says he’s proud to pull this lost album from the time machine

Remembering the late Mick Abrahams, co-founder of Jethro Tull, purveyor of “good, honest music”

By Henry Yates published 6 March 26

A powerful, lyrical bluesman, the founding Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig guitarist always played music his way – even when it hurt his career

Joanne Shaw Taylor on her life-changing first meeting with the great B.B. King

By Henry Yates published 6 March 26

Joanne Shaw Taylor was just a young kid when she met B.B. King. Now she is paying tribute to the King of the Blues on Joe Bonamassa’s all-star album

Joe Bonamassa on his friendship with the ultimate bluesman, B.B. King – and paying the ultimate tribute

By David Mead published 4 March 26

B.B. King would have celebrated his 100th birthday in September last year. But when Joe Bonamassa discovered that the centenary was going almost unnoticed, he swung into action

How Europe’s John Norum learned to love The Final Countdown – and the guitar he used to track its iconic solo

By Henry Yates published 2 March 26

The Final Countdown is one of rock's evergreen anthems, but Norum admits he thought it was “dreadful” at first

He wrote chart-topping hits and a Christmas classic, but all he wanted to do was play slide blues – remembering Chris Rea

By Henry Yates published 2 March 26

A slide master with a voice like life, the English bluesman hated the spotlight – and deserves notice beyond his perennial Christmas hit

From sleeping in tents to Woodstock, rock ’n’ roll's ‘Forrest Gump’ Leo Lyons shares the story of Ten Years After

By Henry Yates published 16 February 26

The Ten Years After bassist survived Hamburg’s Star-Club, sparked the blues boom, achieved immortality at Woodstock – and is still going strong at 82. “Music,” he says, “it’s a drug…”

Inside the (literally) blistering sound of British alt-rock’s cultest heroes, The Wedding Present

By Henry Yates published 10 February 26

With a refreshed lineup, a new EP, and a boxset documenting the band's storied career, The Wedding Present founder/frontman Gedge and new guitarist Wood tell us why they're not afraid to bleed for their art – but they're not superglueing the wounds together

“Steve was on the session when history was made”: Why Steve Cropper was one of guitar’s most humble heroes

By Henry Yates published 6 February 26

The departed soul man was the Stax band’s MVP, writing and driving the R&B classics that ruled the ’60s

How Boss reimagined the wildest effect on your pedalboard

By Henry Yates published 29 January 26

Boss's Matt Knight gives us the lowdown on the XS-1 and XS-100 Poly Shifter series, the pitch-shifting pedals that put the DigiTech Whammy on notice

Meet the mystery guitarist rewriting a new future for prog – with a little help from superstar players Greg Howe and Mohini Dey

By Henry Yates published 28 January 26

DarWin guitarist Greg Howe and bassist Mohini Dey, plus the supergroup’s mysterious namesake, tell us about new album, Distorted Mirror, and how it is reinventing the concept album

“Sometimes we were recording a song and the power shut down because of the wind. Since we do everything live, we had to start over”: Assouf rockers Imarhan on how a Peavey amp, the weather and Stevie Ray Vaughan tapes were the making of their new album

By Henry Yates published 19 January 26

Algerian desert rockers’ new release, Essam, fuses electronica with fuzzbox vibes, political flashpoints and ancient poetry. Call it desert blues if you like – but they don’t

“I put it on a stand at a guitar show, with no strategy. And it changed everything”: How relic’ing conquered the guitar world

By Henry Yates published 1 January 26

The not-so-gentle art of relic’ing has enjoyed a renaissance since its maligned roots in the mid-’90s. We asked scene godfather and Gibson Custom Shop guru Tom Murphy how the tide turned

A-list guitar auctions are now a firm fixture, and the sums involved are eye-watering. But who is driving the boom – and is it sustainable?

By Henry Yates published 26 December 25

The amount of money changing hands for artist-owned guitars at auction is eye-watering. Amelia Walker of Christie's London explains what sells and who's buying – and whether it will last