Everyone loves a guitar hero. And young talents who seem to have arrived
fully formed, too. So there’s a lot of love in the room for
Grace Bowers, the
18-year-old who this year became the fretboard’s new best friend. 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.
“I’m very driven at the things that I want,” says Bowers from her Nashville
home. “And, I’m extremely hard-working.”
Bowers is quick to state
that music didn’t come naturally. At first. “I tried lots of hobbies at 9,
and got kicked out of them all,” she says. “I was bad at sports. The guitar
looked cool.”
Bowers cut her teeth playing in dive bars, inspired by the blues of B.B.
King as well as the soulful funk of Sly And The Family Stone. Her breakout
moment came when videos of her playing guitar on social media went viral
during the pandemic. She has since become one of the most in-demand and
celebrated young guitarists, and an inspiration to a whole new generation of
female guitarists around the world.
Bowers recently was awarded the Variety Next Gen award at their annual
Hitmakers event in Los Angeles. She also made her late-night television
debut on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” was featured on “CBS Mornings” and NPR’s “All
Things Considered,” and toured this past fall with The Red Clay Strays, Gary
Clark Jr., The Allman Betts Family Revival and The Roots.
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