Interesting young guitarists

The best and brightest new guitar talent breaking the rules, exploring new genres, and proving once and for all that the guitar is not dead.

Kriston Ingram

Over the course of two weeks last year, this publication asked modern blues titans Gary Clark Jr. and Eric Hales the same question: Who’s next? The answer in both cases was one word: “Kingfish”. Kriston “Kingfish” Ingram (mentioned above) grew up in the blues country of Mississippi, and from the first days of his life, the 20-year-old was determined to keep this tradition alive and bring the music to a new generation.

Ingram’s talent attracted attention almost immediately, and he quickly saw that he was ready for big things-he played his first gig at age 11 and played for Obama at the White House by age 15-but unlike many guitar prodigies, Ingram didn’t stagnate, instead continuing to develop his tone, technique, and feel. “Now I play with taste,” he told us. “I used to hear: “Man, you’re doing great, but you need to slow down.” Even players who were playing fast were telling me to slow down! You can never stop learning, so I took their knowledge and applied it to my business.”

Adam Gunn

The 1975’s frontman Mat Healy is one of the most outspoken and charismatic pop figures, so it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that the band’s incredibly talented guitarist Adam Hann doesn’t seem to get much attention despite being a member of one of the biggest bands on the planet. But a closer listen to their diverse back catalog reveals the amazing chameleonic nature of Hann’s guitar playing – from intricate guitar pop to angular 80s neo-soul to abrasive lo-fi punk, he can inhabit them all, always sounding uniquely himself.

Bea Christie

Filipino-British songwriter Beabadubi (also known as Bea Christie) first discovered her songwriting talent at the age of 16 when a fan uploaded her song Coffee to YouTube and it quickly went viral. She was snapped up by trendy indie-pop kings Dirty Hit, and in the two years since, she’s honed her sound from a standard acoustic singer-songwriter, utilizing 90s guitar influences and taking a Mustang to create languid grunge-pop tunes that sound like they were released straight out of 1995.

Blake Mills

If you were a Grammy-nominated producer who’d worked with everyone from the Alabama Shakes to John Legend, you’d probably be pretty happy with that, right? Well, Blake Mills seems determined to make even the hardest working among us feel inadequate, while also demonstrating that he’s a superb songwriter and singer who is in demand as both a deft acoustic stylist and a wonderfully melodic country performer.

Daniel Donato

If you want to walk down Nashville’s famous Broadway with a TV cameraman, you better clean up your act, or else everyone and their grandmothers (literally) on the street will leave you in the dust. So when teenager Daniel Donato saw Don Kelly’s band perform there – the legendary working-class outfit that spawned Brent Mason and Johnny Gieland – he declared that he had found the band he wanted to join. After two years of rodents and firewood, Donato earned his way in. Still only 20, Donato has since gone out on his own and established himself as one of the most sought-after players in Nashville.

Davey Newington

Boy Azooga’s extremely sophisticated debut album, 1, 2, Kung Fu! feels like an 11-track residency in Davey Newington’s head. And what a remarkably unique place it is – a blend of funk, soul, classic rock, pop and world music in a giant psychedelic swirl, with Newington delivering hook after hook along the way. He’s also earned himself some big-name fans, with Neil Young , Bob Dylan and both Gallagher brothers tagging Boy Azooga for support spots last year.