Category: Artists

Guitar Talk: Profiles & Interviews

How Guitar Duo Rodrigo y Gabriela Is Informed by Eastern Spiritual Practices—and Thrash-Metal

On their latest release, In Between Thoughts… A New World, the spiritually inclined pair have invested their pan-genre musical values with some of their own more metaphysical ones.

James Rotondi May 21, 2023

Christie Lenée Explains the Surprising Sounds and Textures at Play on ‘Coming Alive’

The albums is an extension of Lenée’s current fascinations, which include experimenting with fingerstyle on the 12-string and an ongoing exploration of alternate tunings.

Kate Koenig May 10, 2023

Guitarist Grant Gordy standing holding an acoustic guitar

Improviser Grant Gordy Thrives in the String-Band Ensemble Setting of His Latest Work

Since Grant Gordy’s 2010 self-titled debut album, he has used bluegrass as a foundation while stretching out far beyond the genre’s confines to find his voice as an improviser, composer,

Adam Perlmutter April 20, 2023

Album Reviews

Steve Dawson seated with acoustic guitar

Multiple Layered Guitars Stand Out on Steve Dawson’s ‘Eyes Closed, Dreaming’

As with all of Dawson’s projects that I’ve heard, his layered guitars sit front and center, but he’s also supported by a fine cast of other players.

Blair Jackson May 30, 2023

Powerful Doc Watson Tribute ‘I Am a Pilgrim’ Surprises with Star-Studded Cast of Players

Diverse roster of artists reinforces the wide musical influence of the legendary guitarist.

Kenny Berkowitz May 23, 2023

guitarist Deniz Cuylan standing in front of cactus

Deniz Cuylan Returns with More Brightly Colored Cinematic Abstractions on ‘Rings of Juniper’

The soundscapes on ‘Rings of Juniper’ are increasingly complex, their palettes more varied, their themes more ambitious than Cuylan’s previous works.

Kenny Berkowitz May 16, 2023

Acoustic Guitar Sessions

Powerful Voices

Devon Gilfillian’s Soulful Searching | Acoustic Guitar Sessions in Place

Devon Gilfillian performs unplugged versions of two songs from the new record: “All I Really Wanna Do” and the title track, “Love You Anyway”.

Joey Lusterman
April 7, 2023

Folkies

Video screen grab of John McCutcheon in his home studio in Smoke Rise, Georgia

John McCutcheon | Acoustic Guitar Sessions in Place

Playing his “favorite guitar in the world,” his trusty Huss & Dalton MJC, John McCutcheon deconstructs his song "Peekaboo" and shows how to play it slowly and up to speed.

Acoustic Guitar Editors
November 12, 2022

Imaginative Instrumentalists

Elijah-McLaughlin-Session-Acoustic-Guitar

Elijah McLaughlin Performs Two Stunning Fingerstyle Pieces | Acoustic Guitar Sessions in Place

For this AG Session, Elijah McLaughlin and Jason Toth of the Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble perform two fingerstyle pieces from the ensemble's latest album

Joey Lusterman
November 3, 2022

Sessions: Creative Director's Picks

Over the last 10+ years, Joey Lusterman has worked in every department at Acoustic Guitar magazine: front desk, ad sales, editorial, sound guy, camera man, booth babe, email coder, podcast editor, photographer, book designer… And he’s been behind the camera for nearly every Sessions video! Here are just a few of his favorites (see them all.)

All Artist Interviews and Stories

Larkin Poe standing in empty room with guitars

How Megan and Rebecca Lovell of Larkin Poe Traveled from Bluegrass to Blues Rock and Beyond

To learn more about Larkin Poe's journey from acoustic roots music to amped-up rock, we caught up with the sisters by phone from their home bases in Nashville.

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
June 7, 2023

Debashish Bhattacharya playing slide style on his self-designed Chaturangui

Evocative Music from a Unique Instrument on Debashish Bhattacharya’s ‘The Sound of the Soul’

Bhattacharya plays his self-designed chaturangui with equal parts passion and precision on this tribute to his mentor, Ali Akbar Khan

Kenny Berkowitz
June 6, 2023

Multiple Layered Guitars Stand Out on Steve Dawson’s ‘Eyes Closed, Dreaming’

As with all of Dawson’s projects that I’ve heard, his layered guitars sit front and center, but he’s also supported by a fine cast of other players.

Blair Jackson
May 30, 2023

Powerful Doc Watson Tribute ‘I Am a Pilgrim’ Surprises with Star-Studded Cast of Players

Diverse roster of artists reinforces the wide musical influence of the legendary guitarist.

Kenny Berkowitz
May 23, 2023

How Guitar Duo Rodrigo y Gabriela Is Informed by Eastern Spiritual Practices—and Thrash-Metal

On their latest release, In Between Thoughts... A New World, the spiritually inclined pair have invested their pan-genre musical values with some of their own more metaphysical ones.

James Rotondi
May 21, 2023

Deniz Cuylan Returns with More Brightly Colored Cinematic Abstractions on ‘Rings of Juniper’

The soundscapes on ‘Rings of Juniper’ are increasingly complex, their palettes more varied, their themes more ambitious than Cuylan's previous works.

Kenny Berkowitz
May 16, 2023

Christie Lenée Explains the Surprising Sounds and Textures at Play on ‘Coming Alive’

The albums is an extension of Lenée’s current fascinations, which include experimenting with fingerstyle on the 12-string and an ongoing exploration of alternate tunings.

Kate Koenig
May 10, 2023

Eric Skye and Jamie Stillway seated with Santa Cruz acoustic guitars

Jamie Stillway and Eric Skye Craft Colorful Flatpicking Duets for a Batch of Old-Time Tunes on ‘Over the Waterfall’

The duo has crafted a colorful soundscape of quietly brilliant flatpicking interpretations of classic American fiddle tunes.

David McCarty
May 9, 2023

Elsie Franklin playing resonator guitar and singing

Elsie Franklin Offers a Mix of Bluesy, Vintage-Sounding Originals and Classic Covers on Sophomore Album ‘Miss Rhythm’

Half the songs on Miss Rhythm are originals, though if you didn’t see the writing credits, you could easily be fooled into thinking that they were pulled off scratchy 78s from the ’20s or ’30s.

Blair Jackson
April 25, 2023

‘Living in a Song’ Is Another Winner from Dynamic Roots Duo Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley

The duo showcases their classic country songwriting skills on their latest Compass Records release.

Michael England
April 25, 2023

Improviser Grant Gordy Thrives in the String-Band Ensemble Setting of His Latest Work

Since Grant Gordy's 2010 self-titled debut album, he has used bluegrass as a foundation while stretching out far beyond the genre’s confines to find his voice as an improviser, composer, and arranger.

Adam Perlmutter
April 20, 2023

Irene Gómez holding acoustic guitar on bridge

Irene Gómez’s ‘Songs of My Life/Canciones de mi Vida’ is an Intriguing Nylon-String Mix of Beatles, Brel, and Schubert

The nimble and expressive Colombian classical guitarist Irene Gómez has always played a diverse repertoire, as befits a musician whose varied guitar education included programs in her native country, in France, and at Juilliard in New York, where she studied with Sharon Isbin.

Blair Jackson
April 18, 2023

Devon Gilfillian’s Soulful Searching | Acoustic Guitar Sessions in Place

Devon Gilfillian performs unplugged versions of two songs from the new record: “All I Really Wanna Do” and the title track, “Love You Anyway”.

Joey Lusterman
April 7, 2023

Six Decades into His Musical Journey, Classical Guitarist Eliot Fisk Still Seeks New Summits

Now age 68, classical guitar virtuoso Eliot Fisk turns momentarily wistful looking back over his long and storied career. “Years pass by and I think, ‘How can this be?’ I’m just getting started,” he says, voice rising. “I’m at the point where I’m looking at the last chapters of my life.”

Mark Small
April 2, 2023

Rory Block’s ‘Ain’t Nobody Worried’ Salutes 10 of Her Favorite Female Singers

Ain’t Nobody Worried, the third installment in Rory Block’s Power Women of the Blues series, takes the acoustic slide guitar master and blues belter in some unexpected but completely rewarding new directions.

Blair Jackson
March 28, 2023

Different Cultures, Styles, and Tunings Elevate Walter Strauss’ Mesmerizing ‘For Melody, Wherever She May Find Me’

The California-based acoustic fingerstyle guitarist expresses himself in a joyous, ebullient chorus of guitar voices.

Kate Koenig
March 23, 2023

After More Than 40 Albums, John McCutcheon Is Still in Love with His Instruments

Leap is John McCutcheon's 43rd album dating back to the mid 1970s, and he's still finding new guitars to get excited about.

Emile Menasché
March 22, 2023

Joe Henry and Friends Collaborate on the Enigmatic but Satisfying ‘All the Eye Can See’

The songs on Joe Henry’s latest album 'All the Eye Can See' refuse to give up their mysteries, the melodies wandering like question marks with the lyrics threading a thin line between knowing and unknowing.

Kenny Berkowitz
March 21, 2023

Veteran Minnesota String Band Trampled by Turtles Is Still Getting Better on ‘Alpenglow’

Alpenglow is Trampled By Turtles' best-sounding album, filled with a sonic richness that keeps these songs driving forward.

Kenny Berkowitz
March 14, 2023

The Roches, 1980 (L to R): Suzzy, Maggie, and Terre

Great Picking, Singing, and Songs on ‘Kin Ya See That Sun,’ a Fitting Tribute to the Late Maggie Roche

The album brings together 15 previously unreleased live and studio tracks by two of the three singing Roche sisters, Terre and Maggie, who were a performing folk duo dating back to their teen years.

Blair Jackson
March 7, 2023

David Lindley on the cover of the June 2000 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine

Remembering David Lindley

Renowned maxi-instrumentalist David Lindley passed away March 3, 2023 at the age of 78. Republished here is a profile and in-depth interview, which originally ran as cover story for our June 2000 issue.

Paul Kotapish
March 4, 2023

The Rich Musical Legacy of Doc Watson: A Rare Interview with the Legendary Guitarist

A rare interview with Arthel "Doc" Watson, an extraordinary entertainer who never failed to capture the admiration and affection of his audience.

Stephanie P. Ledgin
March 3, 2023

The Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble Weaves a Rich Sonic Tapestry on its Second Album

A testimonial to the power of first takes, in-studio improvisation, and the post-pandemic persistence of nature and art.

Kenny Berkowitz
February 28, 2023

Kate Koenig’s ‘Immortal Rhythm’ is a Compelling Slice of Alternative Folk Autobiography

Kate Koenig describes Immortal Rhythm as “alternative folk," and there is a folk purity to the mostly crystalline vocals and much of the fingerpicked and strummed acoustic guitar parts.

Blair Jackson
February 28, 2023

South Korean Classical Guitarist Bokyung Byun Has Seen Tremendous Success Since Moving to the U.S.

South Korea–born classical guitar virtuoso Bokyung Byun (aka “Bo”) is riding a wave of musical achievements.

Mark Small
February 15, 2023