"I take inspiration from a lot of places, but I try to turn that into my own thing.” Watch Grace Bowers riff on her Gibson SG while she shows us what’s on her pedalboard

You don’t need us to tell you Grace Bowers’ career is blowing up. The guitarist has been hailed as one of modern blues’ best new players, with raves coming from Devon Allman, Susan Tedeschi and many others.

Even so, the 18-year-old guitarist is quick to deny that she's graced with talent beyond her years, even as she blows minds with her preternatural sense of tone and style.

"People call me a prodigy a lot and it’s entirely not true, because for the first three years I was so bad. I was awful," she's told The Bluegrass Situation. "And I wasn’t even really passionate about it. It was just kind of something that I did. I never really practiced or dug into other music styles."

But at the age of 13, she heard B.B. King's "Sweet Little Angel," and its opening three notes hooked her. At the same time, the world entered lockdown.

“Then COVID happened and I was locked in my room with nothing but a guitar,” she told Forbes, laughing. “I locked myself in my room for hours every day and became really connected to it, the more and more I learned about it and learned different music genres.

“I’ve never tried to copy anyone else. I take inspiration from a lot of places, but I try to turn that into my own thing.”

Bowers has clearly found her own thing. And now she’s getting calls to do all-star shows, such as the juggernaut Allman Betts Family Revival tour — which is exactly where Guitar Player found her. That road show culminated in San Francisco at the Fillmore on December 21, 2024. Guitar Player has been involved with this dynamic tribute since its inception at the Fillmore in 2017, so it was not a surprise when Devon Allman asked if we might help find a extra Fender Twin, which Backline Source graciously provided.

Upon arrival we discovered the amp was for the rising star. After we delivered the amp to her, Bowers was game to detail her pedalboard as she was setting it up with her electric guitar. I simply turned on my iPhone and she provided a candid video revealing exclusive insights about how and why she uses each piece of gear complete with impressive demonstrations. Her rhythm playing is particularly funky!

Bowers' gear in the following video consists of a Gibson Murphy Lab SG, the Fender Twin we sourced for her and the following pedals: Vox Wah, D'Addario CT-20 Chromatic Tuner Plus, Electro-Harmonix Pico POG Polyphonic Octave Generator, Analog Man King of Tone Overdrive, Tsakalis AudioWorks Phonkify Envelope Filter/Wah/Octaver, EarthQuaker Devices Tone Job EQ & Boost, Dunlop EP103 Echoplex Delay and a Dunlop MXR M148 Micro Chorus.

Bowers has been gaining plenty of press lately. She recently revealed the song that caused her to begin playing guitar at the age of nine. Bowers has also explained how she's learned to deal with critics who write her off.

“I get disrespected before I even play,” she told Guitar World. “People take one look at me, a young female, and immediately get a thought in their head of what I am, and they don’t take me as seriously as they should.”

Rather than dwell on the negativity, Bowers looks at the bright side of being young and female in today guitar's world. “I see people my own age in the audience, and their minds are blown," she says. "I’m making this stuff sound new to them.”