5 Guitarists Y'all Should Know
As a hat tip to Women's History month, I'd like to showcase 5 guitarists that are killing it in their own way and shed some light on some otherwise lesser-known talent that wouldn't necessarily make it on the radio or your algorithmic music feeds.
H.E.R.
Some of you may know H.E.R. from her recent Super Bowl performance. Not only is she a great R&B and blues guitarist but is a fantastic singer and piano player. This three-song video is a concert feature that Fender did as part of H.E.R.'s signature series guitar launch.
2. Orianthi
Hailing from Australia, Orianthi became known when she became Michael Jackson's lead guitarist for the tour he died on. She's gone on to tour with Alice Cooper and has released a number of solo records. The video below is a guitar duel between her and the undisputed guitar god: Steve Vai. This is a really good instrumental rock song for your workout mix!
3. Yvette Young
Yvette and her band Covet are a fantastic progressive rock and instrumental band that is super chill and great relaxing music. Her two-hand tapping and fingerpicking combined with unusual open tunings put her in a caliber of guitar player with very few members.
4. Nita Strauss
NIta Strauss came up the ranks as a member of the Iron Maidens, an all-female Iron Maiden cover band. She's now the full-time guitarist for Alice Coopers band. The video below is from her solo instrumental record from a year or two ago. She has an old-school rock god vibe that matches perfectly with her neo-classical shredding.
6. Kaki King
Kaki King has been around for a while but she specializes in instrumental acoustic music so she's not as well known as she should be. Her particular style of playing uses open tunings, fingerpicking, two-hand tapping, and using the guitar as a percussion while maintaining the melodic and harmonic lines. Everything that you hear in this song is her guitar with some minor post-production effects. In addition to virtuosic guitar playing, she incorporates a lot of visual design into her music videos.
Bonus - Rodrigo y Gabriela
As one half of the amazing Mexican guitar duo, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Gabriela Quintero lays the rhythmic and harmonic bedrock for the melodic and lead lines by Rodrigo Sanchez. Gabriela's mix of fingerstyle and flamenco really makes this band what it is. Everybody should know this group!
I hope this inspires many a YouTube rabbit hole and that some of these artists will make it into your playlists!