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Grace Bowers: Have Guitar, Will Travel
Grace Bowers, who is receiving the Next Gen award at Variety's HItmakers event, tells the story behind her becoming 2024's breakout guitar hero.
A player since age 9, Bowers made a name for her music on Instagram and YouTube during the pandemic, but really came into her own in August with her swaggering, blues- and funk-filled debut, “Wine on Venus.” The album’s gutsy rhythms, taut solos and soulful, self-penned songs offer proof positive of her six-string mastery. A fast history lesson through Mississippi John Hurt and T-Bone Walker pushed her into Parliament-Funkadelic and Sly & the Family Stone territory, groove-oriented vibes that helped develop her guitar stylings. There are hints of Sly Stone in “Tell Me Why U Do That,” the Beatles’ psychedelic period on “Lucy” (“I was actually looking for a Doobie Brothers sound with my 12-string”), and Eddie Hazel Funkadelic licks throughout the whole of “Wine on Venus.”
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