Latest articles by Ellie Rogers
5 Aerosmith songs you need to hear
As one of rock's greatest bands retires from touring, we look at where to start with their musical legacy
5 songs you need to hear by Jeff Beck
The guitar player's guitar hero has a discography and a bag of six-string tricks like no other
"It’s a common misconception among the unconverted that the Grateful Dead’s music was characterised by aimless noodling, rather than by deftly deployed fretboard know-how": 5 songs guitarists need to hear by the Grateful Dead
Newcomers can dig in for a long strange trip here
The blues guitar highlights of 2023: our favourite artists, performances and albums – featuring Jared James Nichols, Jackie Venson, Eric Clapton, Kingfish, Nat Myers, Eric Gales, Samantha Fish, Buddy Guy and more
New and old school: a blues masterclass is in session
5 songs you need to hear by Tom Petty
Petty's discography is a long road that ended too soon – here are some good places to start with a legendary songwriting legacy
Interview: Jared James Nichols on fingerstyle blues tips and perfecting his Les Paul signature pickup: "I would say it’s your favourite P-90 you haven’t tried yet"
"It’s a game-changer because anyone who played one of my signatures before was like, ‘Yeah, I like it, but the P-90 is buzzy.’ Now, we’re getting rid of that"
Gavin Rossdale talks us through Bush's platinum hits: "These songs were not written with a view to any degree of success… I had toiled for many years and nothing had worked"
From unemployment in London to 20-million album sales and US stardom, the songwriter recalls a remarkable rise – "I was pretty rubbish at first, but I had a knack"
Trevor Rabin interview: "When I went to do this album, I just wanted to do everything I love"
The inside guitar perspective of the long-awaited new solo album from the former Yes man
Duff McKagan interview: "I wasn’t initially a bass player – I was a guitar player and a drummer. So, my thing’s a little weird. I write left-handed. I play right-handed. There’s a bunch of weird s**t!"
The Guns man talks new solo album Lighthouse, Jerry Cantrell and shares some insider tips: "I do the trick where, about 20 minutes before a show, I eat some potato chips"
Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram: "I’m really heavily into Gary Moore when it comes to the hard blues rock sound" – talking tones, tips and a new live album with the Delta guitar hero
"For me, the stage is more like a canvas than the studio is"
"When Annie’s turn came, she refused to do the obvious white-male masturbatory thing on the guitar" – 5 St. Vincent songs guitarists need to hear
"It was like the Loch Ness monster giving birth inside a silo"
Heriot's Debbie Gough on the 10 albums that changed her life and that Jackson shred collaboration video: "It was definitely one of the craziest experiences of my life"
The whammy-wielding UK metaller talks Jackson American Series Virtuoso and why Haley Williams is a songwriting influence alongside Converge and the Dillinger Escape Plan
5 songs guitarists need to hear by... John Martyn
Brilliant, inventive, troubled, there was never a folk guitar player like Martyn, whose appetite for experimentation created a sound that resonated far beyond guitar culture
"Chords are depictions of emotions" – 5 Joni Mitchell songs that showcase her guitar and songwriting genius
A case of Joni – and her 55 different tunings
Lindsey Buckingham: 5 Fleetwood Mac and solo songs you need to hear featuring the guitar maverick
He goes his own way
Steve Lacy on his new signature Fender Strat: "I kind of wanted to mix the old with the new – I think I always like that in everything that I do"
The artist and producer brings an auteur's touch to his first signature guitar; he tells us about striking a balance
Voyager guitarists Simone Dow and Scott Kay on being the first prog-metal band in the Eurovision Song Contest: "We love a little bit of cheese every now and then, so why not throw that in with a nice little mountaintop solo?"
The duo also explain why the key to a good guitar riff is the drums
Feist interview: "I was endeavouring to push myself harder in my guitar playing"
In this guitar-focussed interview, Leslie Feist tells us how she used nylon strings, alternate tunings and a Spire digital eight-track to make a compelling musical statement on Multitudes
Ruston Kelly on the 10 albums that changed his life and how they inspired his new record: "If you really dig into the record, you can hear every single one’s influences"
"I started a Dave Matthews covers band in my high school" – we pick through the DNA of Ruston's sprawling third album, The Weakness
"If you roll your guitar volume back and have a pedal on, it’ll buffer it and you’ll still have the high end" – Michael Landau talks Strats and shares his top 5 tips for guitarists
We discuss tone and the 'Coma' Strat with a session giant
"With this record, I hope that people can feel my soul and my spirit because, in those solos, that’s what I’m really giving you" – Malina Moye on her new album and the 10 that changed her life
An inspiring musician talks inspirations
"There is something about the clean sound on a Fender. I just don’t think it can be touched" – Samm Henshaw on embracing the guitar for his next record and being inspired to play by John Mayer (via Michael Jackson)
"I have not played around with a proper amp for a very long time! It’s been plugins"
5 Rory Gallagher songs guitarists need to hear
Check out these key tracks from the electric blues icon
"Aged 15, 16 and 17, I wanted to be Stevie Ray Vaughan – that’s all I cared about": Jared James Nichols on blues heroes, Zakk Wylde, Patsy Cline and the 10 albums that changed his life
"I had a Tube Screamer as well and I still use it"
John Oates on 10 albums that changed his life, and the guitar that now feels like a part of him: "I bought my ‘58 Strat in 1972 for a hundred and twenty-five bucks and I’ve played it ever since"
From James Brown to Joni Mitchell and Billy Strings: the key inspirations on one half of the best-selling musical duo ever, and a solo artist in his own right