Steve Vai

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[L-R] Steve Vai and Randy Hansen

Watch Steve Vai perform Jimi Hendrix's Midnight in honor of the late guitar icon's 80th birthday – with a professional Hendrix tribute artist

By Sam Roche published

The surprise duo put their fingers – and teeth – to work in a blistering lead guitar performance at Seattle's Moore Theater

[L-R] Nita Strauss, Steve Vai, Sophie Lloyd and John Frusciante

The 10 best guitar solos of 2022

By Jonathan Horsley published

As voted for by you, and featuring the lead guitar skills of Nita Strauss, Sophie Lloyd, John Frusciante, Polyphia, Steve Vai and more, here are the solos that lit up your year

Steve Vai performs onstage at the Guitar Legends Expo in 1991

Hear Steve Vai channel his biker-rock side on newly-released track, Busted

By Jackson Maxwell published

Featuring the late Johnny “Gash” Sombrotto on vocals, the song – recorded in 1991 – appears on the forthcoming Vai/Gash album

Dave Weiner (left) and Steve Vai perform on stage at Sala Barts on July 21, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain

Dave Weiner retires from Steve Vai's band after 23 years, and announces his successor

By Jackson Maxwell published

With Vai by his side, Weiner told fans he felt it was time for him to "choose a new adventure"

John Lydon (left) and Steve Vai perform onstage

How the unlikely partnership of Steve Vai and John Lydon forged one of the most unforgettable alt-rock hits of the '80s

By Jackson Maxwell published

Improbable as it may seem today, Vai's jangling contributions to this Public Image Ltd classic put him right next to R.E.M. and The Smiths on college radio playlists

[L-R] Jared Dines, John Petrucci, Zakk Wylde, Synyster Gates and Nita Strauss

Jared Dines' 5th “biggest shred collab song in the world” will have the most star-studded lineup of any guitar video ever

By Sam Roche published

John Petrucci, Zakk Wylde, Synyster Gates, Nita Strauss, Steve Vai, Tim Henson, Ichika Nito and John 5 are all in the running to appear – and only the first wave of guitarists has been announced

Mick Box performs with Uriah Heep at the Tempodrom on January 21, 2020 in Berlin, Germany

From brutal chugs to fogs of reverb: here are this week's essential guitar tracks

By Matt Owen, Michael Astley-Brown, Sam Roche, Jackson Maxwell published

Featuring killer new guitar-fronted songs from Uriah Heep, Steve Vai and Johnny “Gash” Sombrotto, Narrow Head, August Burns Red, Gina Birch, and more

Steve Vai

Steve Vai unveils lost classic rock-inspired track from the ‘90s, In the Wind

By Sam Roche published

An album of previously unheard biker-friendly material recorded alongside late singer Johnny “Gash” Sombrotto is set to land in January

Steve Vai and Polyphia

Polyphia’s Tim Henson and Scott LePage sit down with Steve Vai to discuss their epic collaboration, the evolution of awe-inspiring technique and a one-of-a-kind guitar gift

By Joe Bosso last updated

The Polyphia x Steve Vai collaboration on Ego Death is one of the standout guitar moments of 2022. This is the story of how it all came together, from the first encounter to chopping up the guitar master's solo – and how the prog prodigies plan to tackle it all live…

Steve Vai performs at the Las Noches del Botanico festival in Madrid, Spain on July 18, 2022

Steve Vai names his "greatest accomplishment on the guitar"

By Jackson Maxwell published

And no, it's not For the Love of God, Teeth of The Hydra or Tender Surrender

Jaded Lady

Opening for Guns N’ Roses, taking lessons from Randy Rhoads and trading licks with Steve Vai: what the Sunset Strip's golden era was really like

By Gregory Adams published

As a new compilation album assembles some of the era's deepest cuts, Jaded Lady guitarist Danelle Kern and Romeo and Hellion alum Chet Thompson recall their fondest memories from the epicenter of shred guitar

Steve Vai and Zakk Wylde

Watch Steve Vai and Zakk Wylde pay tribute to Jimi Hendrix by unleashing fretboard fury on Voodoo Child

By Matt Owen published

With their signature guitars in hand, the two titans treated attendees of the 2017 Vai Academy to one of the most explosive Voodoo Child covers of all time

Polyphia

Tim Henson and Scott LePage on how Polyphia made the wildest guitar album of 2022: “We were like, ‘F**k. Did we just blow out Steve Vai’s speakers?’”

By Joe Bosso published

In this in-depth exclusive, the instrumental provocateurs talk secret signature models, their all-star collaborators, how much they really practice – and why they wouldn’t describe what they do as ‘shred’

Steve Vai auction electric guitar

Steve Vai to auction off electric guitars and gear from across his career

By Matt Owen published

An Ibanez JEM from the Experience Hendrix Tour, a Grammys-played acoustic and all sorts of weird and wonderful prototypes can be found in the mammoth collection

Green Day

10 times fans played guitar onstage with their heroes – and absolutely killed it

By Sam Roche published

These fans were plucked from the crowd by their guitar idols, and answered the call in roof-raising style

Steve Vai playing his Hydra guitar

Watch Steve Vai tame his monstrous triple-neck Hydra in the first-ever live performance of Teeth of The Hydra

By Matt Owen published

After unveiling his triple-neck beast to the world in 2021, the guitar legend has finally let the Hydra out of its cage for its first live appearances

Steve Vai performing with Tim Henson and Scott LePage

Polyphia take a blues-rock turn in blistering guest spot with Steve Vai

By Matt Owen last updated

The prog-rock pioneers swapped their trademark taps and meticulously composed melodies for pentatonic licks, lashings of wah and even a few “boomer bends”

Steve Vai and Ellen Alaverdyan, House of Blues, Las Vegas.

Watch 10-year-old bass wunderkind Ellen Alaverdyan jam with guitar hero Steve Vai at the House of Blues

By Nick Wells published

Vai also invited guitar virtuoso Nili Brosh onstage at the Vegas show of his 2022 Inviolate tour

[L-R] Scott LePage, Steve Vai and Tim Henson

Steve Vai was taken aback when he heard how Polyphia cut up his guest solo: “I thought, ‘Maybe they didn’t like what I did!’”

By Sam Roche published

But guitarist Tim Henson reassures Vai that his contribution to Ego Death was instrumental to the creative direction of the song

Alex Turner performs with Arctic Monkeys at Cala Mijas Fest on September 1, 2022 in Malaga, Spain

From avant-jazz mini-symphonies to cabaret-tinged stadium-rock: here are this week's essential guitar tracks

By Jackson Maxwell, Matt Owen, Sam Roche published

Close out September with the best in new guitar-driven music from Polyphia and Steve Vai, Drowning Pool, Paramore, Jakub Zytecki, Arctic Monkeys, Disturbed, Eliza McLamb, Djo and more