Oct 3
These are women that just own it. They have raw talent for both playing and composing. View 'em and weep guys.
1) Lauren Larson of UME
Ume (pronounced ooo-may) is an Austin trio who has built a reputation as one of indie rock’s heaviest live bands. Guitarist/vocalist Lauren says (in her southern drawl) that show after show she meets people who don’t think she could possibly have played in punk rock bands for over a decade. She has even had audience members ask if the guitar parts were pre-recorded, because “nobody could play guitar like that, wail, and flail around so much on stage.” Sorry folks, this pint-sized shredder is the real deal. (src: last.fm)
2) Kina Grannis
Kina Kasuya Grannis (born August 4, 1985) is a Japanese American guitarist and singer-songwriter. A talented singer/songwriter who self-released her first full-length album, Stairwells, in February 2010. Kina has a great ear for creating sophisticated yet catchy love tunes that are fun to listen to but don't come off as cheesy.
3) Yasi Hofer
Yasi picked up the guitar at age 12 and discovered Steve Vai. Instead of living a usual teenager life she decided to practice as hard as possible to achieve the technique and musicianship necessary to perform like Vai. Soon Steve Vai became aware of her talent and offered to share the stage with her when she was 14! Here's the performance of the two playing together.
4) Sarah Jarosz
Sarah Jarosz is a bluegrass multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. She was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Country Instrumental Performance for the track "Mansinneedof". She started writing songs on the guitar and took up the banjo. Check out the great finger picking and soaring voice.
5) Commander in Chief
Norwegian born, from the city of Bergen, 7 string guitarist / singer / songwriter in Metal / Hard Rock. Official Ibanez artist , playing the prototype Falchion 7 string, the only one of its kind in the world. The CIC is creating a lot of buzz with her extraordinary version of Paranoid, mixed by legendary Pantera producer/engineer Sterling Winfield (Pantera, Hatebreed, Hellyeah), who says this about her: "I am always looking for something new and different to work on, but I have to say that when the unique talents of "The Commander In Chief" crossed my desk a few months ago, I was blown away! Aggressive technical guitar playing and an unusual voice. She may not be for everyone, but she certainly is a unique talent.
Your Turn...
Got any great guitar players you think we haven't heard of? Let us know below. Thanks!
This post was written by
Michael is a guitarist of over 18 years and has taught lessons, played in front of live audiences, and wrote and recorded his own acoustic fingerstyle albums. He's especially fond of playing classic rock, heavy metal, classical guitar, and fingerstyle acoustic guitar in the style of Leo Kottke and John Fahey.
