Sep-19

Restless babyboomers made the guitar a cultural symbol of the ’60s, and music festivals – where hundreds of thousands witnessed burgeoning musical heroes use the instrument in stunning new ways – played a major role. The Woodstock Music & Art Fair holds special status, so we asked Carlos Santana, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, and Tommy Shannon to reflect on the event. We dig into the guitars and amps seen onstage at Woodstock, extend the conversation with Santana, keying on his new album, Africa Speaks, then continue our ’60s-centric month with a look at Mark Lindsay’s Guild F-30NT and the Ampeg J-12R Reverbojet.

Going slightly more retro, we profile a prototype Gretsch 6128 Duo-Jet and holy-grail 6134 White Penguin. Of course, we also want to tell you about new music, so we talk with Paul Gilbert, Dominic Miller, Terry Robb, Oz Noy, Stephane Wrembel, and Phil Keaggy. There are also fresh chats with Nashville studio ace Derek Wells, Joe Cocker guitarist Cliff Goodwin, and Ernie Isley, who reflects on the Isley Brothers’ classic album, 3+3, in “Pop ’N Hiss.”

Finally, we get guitar-heavy in this month’s VG Approved Gear and detail the best new music in our “Hit List.” It’s all in the September issue!