Guitar Talk: Joe Henry’s ‘Thrum’ Album Called for Serious Spontaneity
Henry chats about 'Thrum,' the guitars he used on it, and what he plays as a live performer.
Julian Lage at 30: A Visit in San Francisco With the Jazz Guitar Phenomenon
Lage has long since shed his child prodigy status to become one of the great jazz guitarists, if not one of the most brilliant musicians in general.
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Eddie Lang, Wes Montgomery, Django and More | A Century of the Acoustic Guitar in Jazz
When you see the words “jazz guitar,” what pops into your mind’s ear first? Odds are that you hear the clean, smooth, rich sound of an electric archtop, possibly with its tone knob rolled down for extra low-mid emphasis, picking out chord melodies à la Joe Pass or octave lines in the manner of Wes Montgomery. Without a doubt, this is the stereotypical jazz guitar sound, but over more than 100 years of history, there have been many others. And a significant percentage of them were (and are) produced without the aid of a pickup, cable, or amplifier.
Guitar Talk: James Elkington’s New Old Sound
Elkington has reinvented himself as a singer-songwriter and quite extraordinary fingerstyle guitarist on his debut solo album, Wintres Woma
Through his web series ‘Guitar Moves,’ Matt Sweeney talks with some of the biggest names in guitar
At 48, Sweeney is an in-demand collaborator and producer, with a long list of credits—for everyone from the Dixie Chicks to Johnny Cash to Neil Diamond—under his belt. Most recently he’s played guitar on records by the bands Chavez, Endless Boogie, and Soldiers of Fortune; toured with Iggy Pop and Josh Homme; and co-written songs for the John Legend album Darkness and Light. In between these gigs, Sweeney hosts his own instructional web series, Guitar Moves, on Noisey/Vice, in which guest guitarists break down their techniques.
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The State of the Independent Music Store
If there’s one breed of customer that rankles guitar-store owners, it’s not the unreasonable haggler or the teenager who overworks a Nirvana riff for an afternoon. More than anything, it’s the shopper who comes to examine an item but fully intends to purchase it online elsewhere. “Showcasing,” as it’s known, is not new, but it’s increasingly in the open, and indicative of a fickle retail environment where buyers chase deals via the internet.
Learn from the Best: Plan Your Summer Camp Getaway
Take your guitar to a camp, clinic, or workshop to hone your technique, study with your guitar heroes, learn new songs, see old friends and make new ones.
Alberto Lombardi Embarks on a Fingerstyle Journey with ‘Birds’
Alberto Lombardi is in love. After 25 years as a producer, arranger, and electric session player, the Italian guitarist has given his heart to acoustic guitar. He credits Tommy Emmanuel for his conversion, and Emmanuel’s stylistic influence can be heard on Lombardi’s first acoustic album, Birds (Fingerpicking). The 2016 album…
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Summer Guitar and Music Camps, Workshops, and Clinics
We asked Acoustic Guitar readers and audience members where they've been to camp recently. Here's the list.
Classic Shawn Colvin Revisited: ‘A Few Small Repairs’ 20th Anniversary Edition
“Sunny Came Home” and A Few Small Repairs are back in the spotlight with the recent 20th anniversary edition from Sony/Legacy.
Guitar Talk: Will Ackerman Goes with the FLOW on a New Group Project
The name is an acronym from the names of the members: pianist/vocalist Fiona Joy, guitarist Lawrence Blatt, flugelhorn master Jeff Oster, and Ackerman.
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Inside the American Acoustic Tour – A Roundtable with 5 Younger-Generation Acoustic-Music Masters
These young musicians—all in their 20s and 30s—have long been on the vanguard of the acoustic/roots scene and have quite a bit of shared history.
The Mabes: Branson’s Brothers in Song
Nearly 60 years ago, Bob Mabe and his brothers—Jim, Lyle, and Bill—gathered up a guitar, a Dobro, a washtub bass, and the jawbone of a mule and headed for nearby Branson, then a small town in the lush lake country of the southern Missouri Ozarks. Their first gig was playing…
Texas Legend Joe Ely Talks About His Recent Accolades, His Songcraft, and His Love of Guitars
Last year was a big one for Joe Ely. He was named the 2016 official Texas State Musician, and he was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association Hall of Fame.
Guitar Talk: The Guitars of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood
After a recent performance in the AG studio, Chris Robinson Brotherhood guitarists Chris Robinson and Neal Casal shared quick histories of the instruments they used on the band’s latest release, Barefoot in the Head.
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How Bossa Nova Made a Mark on Popular Music
A look at bossa nova's impact on popular music and how the acoustic guitar is at its core.
Shelby Lynne and Sister Allison Moorer on Their First Studio Album Together ‘Not Dark Yet’
It’s a safe bet that Not Dark Yet—the gorgeous collaboration between sisters Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer—will be the only album out this year that contains covers of both Nirvana’s “Lithium” and the Louvin Brothers’ “Every Time You Leave.” Lynne would have it no other way. “We love all different…
Sarah McQuaid Wins Lifetime Achievement Award
The superb British DADGAD guitarist Sarah McQuaid (profiled in the October 2015 issue of AG) was presented with a lifetime achievement award at this year’s popular Ards International Guitar Festival in Northern Ireland (near Belfast), now in its twentieth year. McQuaid is the first female guitarist to win the award,…
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Mariachi Is Inspiring a Revolution in Music Education
Acoustic guitars are flying off the shelves at Iowa-based West Music, one of the country’s largest and oldest distributors of instruments for schools and school districts. Not just any acoustic guitars, but Spanish classical guitars and guitars with exotic names and unique sounds—like the oversized, bulbous bass guitarrón and the…
Indie Rocker John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats Embraces Acoustic Guitar
Ever since his earliest recordings, the Mountain Goats’ sound has been defined by Darnielle’s propulsive, furiously strummed acoustic guitar.
Inside the McClurg Jam, the Heart of the Deep Ozarks Sound
Music has put McClurg and its rollicking Monday-night jams on the map. Not just any music—Ozarks roots music, a style mostly obscure to all but those who live here, or those curious enough to seek it out.
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Bill Collings, 1948-2017: Read Tributes & Watch a Short Documentary About the Legendary Luthier
Bill Collings was one of the world’s most respected names in acoustic guitar making
Letter From Cuba: A Journey Across the Caribbean Island Where Acoustic Guitar is Omnipresent
The acoustic guitar is believed to be the first instrument heard in Cuba—it's as essential to the Cuban zeitgeist as cigars and rum, serving as the accompaniment to 500 years’ of history.
100 Years After His Death, Ragtime Composer Scott Joplin Continues to Inspire Guitarists
As Joplin reigned during the music’s heyday, he reclaimed the throne upon its return. Though “Maple Leaf Rag” was at no point forgotten, it was again a popular gateway to the genre.
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Meet Joan Shelley: Folk’s Rising Star Talks Open Tunings, Influences, and Working with Jeff Tweedy
There’s a kind of clarity and calm in Joan Shelley’s music that feels especially welcome in these fractious times.