When singer José James released his fourth album, No Beginning, No End, in 2013, there was something different in his signature eclectic mix of jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and rock—a new influence. Acoustic guitars. “I had started working with Emily King, who’s a singer-songwriter in New York City,” James says. “She wrote the songs…
Buzz Osborne, the wild-haired front man of the Melvins, has gone acoustic on his latest album, This Machine Kills Artists. Buzz stopped by the AG studios recently for our latest installment of Acoustic Guitar Sessions to discuss his self-described “ham-fisted” playing technique, and showcase a couple of songs from the new album.
In this session, Avett plays his Martin D-35 Seth Avett Signature Edition for a stirring version of his song “Souls Like the Wheels,” the only live track on the Avetts' new album, and chats with Kemp about performing on the streets of Charlotte, writing songs, using open tunings, and growing up on stage.
Midón stopped by the Acoustic Guitar studios last week to talk about guitars and play a few tunes from the new album, including the scorching acoustic-soul song “Was It Ever Really Love?,” featured in this installment of Acoustic Guitar Sessions.
In this Acoustic Guitar Session, Peter Case discusses the solo-acoustic inspiration he got from his blues idols Lightnin' Hopkins, Robert Johnson, and Mississippi John Hurt, which led the former Plimsouls member to discover the advantages--both artistically and economically--of going solo.
Acoustic folk-blues guitarist and songwriter Chris Smither performs "Don't Call Me Stranger," and discusses his songwriting and recovery from addiction.
Rising star guitarist/singer-songwriter Christopher Paul Stelling stopped by the Acoustic Guitar offices to treat us to four songs and insights into his process.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero is a big deal, a sort of renaissance woman who not only has her hands in various strains of music—acoustic folk, jazz, rock, hip-hop, and rhythms from around the world—but also in a variety of other creative projects combining the arts with social justice.
Dar Williams stops in the Acoustic Guitar studios for an Acoustic Guitar Session to talk about never giving up on her fledgling music career—even in the face of petty cynicism from some of those closest to her.
Acoustic music mainstay Laurie Lewis says that a dream helped lead her to buy a 1905 Holzhapfel 12-string guitar. In the dream, Lewis began playing a 12-string and realized that it could unlock a whole new avenue of songwriting.
Former Fairport Convention vocalist Iain Matthews talks about learning to play the guitar and plays a song, "In Paradise," from his latest solo album, The Art of Obscurity.
On tour to support his latest album, Weightless, Andersen stopped by Acoustic Guitar's studios to talk about his German-made Lakewood, the challenges of playing more than 200 concerts a year, and to play us his song "Drift Away."
Diego Figueiredo sits in to discuss his painstaking nail-filing technique, and files off a lightning-fast performance of the traditional song, “One Note Samba.”
