The Latest Breaking News from Jared James Nichols

“He was like, ‘If you want to be a real guitar player, you got to play righty. They don’t make great left-handed guitars’”: The advice Jared James Nichols took –and the bad advice he ignored –to develop his electric fingerstyle

In a journey that took him from rural Wisconsin to world stages, Nichols reflects on the fingerstyle players who inspired him

Guitar World · Jun 24

“There are 1000s of hours on that guitar. I learned everything on it”: The teenage blues sensation hailed as the next Stevie Ray Vaughan has had his main guitar stolen – and Joe Bonamassa has issued a public plea for its return

Rhys John Stygal has received support from Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jared James Nichols and Gary Glark Jr. after his guitar and pedalboard were stolen in Austin, Texas

Guitar World · Jun 18

“I’ve been trying to prove myself constantly. When you get billed as some hotshot player, people will stand with their arms crossed as if to say, ‘Prove it’”: How Jared James Nichols took Blues Power to Dave Grohl's Studio 606 and super-sized his sound

On this year’s Louder Than Fate, Nichols is spreading his creative wings, and – with some help from a one-of-one amp made for Jeff Beck – venturing into new musical pastures

Guitar World · May 27

“On tour, the soundman is always on me to turn down. So I wanted to make sure the amp stays full and articulate, even at lower volumes”: The making of the Blackstar Doug Aldrich Signature DA100 Ruby

Doug Aldrich reveals how decades of vintage amps, real-world touring and close collaboration with Blackstar helped shape his DA100 Ruby signature head

Guitar World · Apr 22

“Those old players had nothing to hide behind. Just their hands, their feel and the truth coming through the speakers”: 5 modern blues guitar heroes on the impossible task of imitating the blues greats

Blues and rock is still being shaped by the British blues boom of the ’60s – and the O.G. bluesmen who influenced them. But how can today’s players nail their tone and sound? Marcus King, Samantha Fish, Zach Persons, Philip Sayce and Jared James Nichols have their say

Guitar World · Feb 22

“The door cracks open and I hear, ‘Who the hell are you? Play that again!‘” Steven Tyler gatecrashed Jared James Nichols’ jam and invited him to hang out with Aerosmith – and he kept coming back

Nichols ended up rubbing shoulders with Aerosmith and was even shown some early studio mixes

Guitar World · Feb 11

“Every modern guitarist from Joe Bonamassa to Jared James Nichols gets the same haters who say, ‘Everything you play is pentatonic’”: Meet Eric Steckel, the high-gain firebrand painting a new shade of blues guitar

The Knaggs signature artist has grown an international profile by importing heavy distortion into the blues and bending it to his will

Guitar World · Feb 5

“Flamenco-inspired triplets, big trap beats, and – wait – is that a wah solo?” January 2026 Guitar World Editors’ Picks

Featuring an onslaught of leviathan power chords from Sunn O))), a bruiser of a blues rock romp from Jared James Nichols, a beautiful, heartfelt piece of desert blues from Imarhan, a genre-obliterating piece of twisty guitar genius from Tim Henson, and a whole lot more

Guitar World · Jan 31

“I didn’t need all the extra crap. Just give me a single-P-90 guitar and a Tube Screamer and I’m ready to play the Royal Albert Hall”: Jared James Nichols on why he took the Klon off his pedalboard and what players get wrong about drive pedals

Not everyone is expanding their pedalboards. Nichols explains why he prefers to keep it simple – and to leave the super-rare high-value pedalboard gold at home

MusicRadar · Jan 14

“There is something really special that can happen when three musicians are playing off of each other and interacting in real time”: Jared James Nichols on why playing in a trio opens up your soloing approaches

Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Mountain, Rush... Jared James Nichols argues that three is the magic number, allowing guitar players to stretch out and the band to feed off each other

Guitar World · Jan 13