“It felt like I was daydreaming!” Matteo Mancuso joins Joe Bonamassa onstage to trade arena-worthy solos By Janelle Borg published 19 April 24 Joe Bonamassa had previously named Matteo Mancuso as his new favorite guitar player
“He was one of my greatest heroes… His attack, tone, vibrato and melodic sense was peerless”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to Jeff Beck as he shares his favorite licks from the guitar icon By Joe Bonamassa published 19 April 24 With a Les Paul in hand, Bonamassa checks in from Nerdville to give a lesson in the style of the late, great Jeff Beck
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 18 April 24 Elvis Costello, Ben Harper and Dave Alvin are among those paying tribute to the work of the late slide virtuoso
“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 18 April 24 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
“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 17 April 24 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
“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 16 April 24 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
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 15 April 24 Learn the licks of the British blues guitar great who took Hendrix's six-string revolution and ran with it
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 12 April 24 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
“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 12 April 24 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
“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 11 April 24 The guitar phenom offers his own definition of greatness, and reveals his 3 best guitars for blues
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 10 April 24 These 15 must-learn licks take you from blues guitar's acoustic beginnings to its electric present day
“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 10 April 24 On his powerful and experimental new album, Gary Clark Jr. is channeling the pioneering spirit of the greats and finding new shades of blue
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 9 April 24 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
“Monster lineup here”: Eric Johnson and Michael Landau honor Jeff Beck with a fretboard-burning Freeway Jam cover By Phil Weller published 8 April 24 The two Stratocaster masters recently shared the stage for a Beck-honoring jam
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 8 April 24 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
“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 8 April 24 The blues-rock guitarist recalls the loss – and remarkable recovery – of his most significant six-string
“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 4 April 24 The up-and-coming blues ace stops by to talk all things gear: the buying, the selling, and the regrets along the way
“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 3 April 24 The Howard A. Reed 1955 black Fender Stratocaster is put through its paces once more in tribute to one of blues guitar's GOATs
“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 3 April 24 One Guitar Woman finds Sue Foley getting technically adventurous as she covers Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Memphis Minnie and Maybelle Carter
5 rock ’n’ roll ending chords you need to know By Richard Barrett published 1 April 24 These jazz-inspired chords will class up any set. Simply add to the conclusion of your jam, et voila!