At 18 years old, Grace Bowers has talents beyond her years and is seen by many as the torchbearer for the next generation of blues guitar players.
Devon Allman, Margo Price, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and Susan Tedeschi have all name-checked the rising star, who has wowed audiences at the prestigious Newport Folk and Crossroads Festivals in recent years.
Yet, despite her success, she says many people in the music industry instantly have dismissed her.
“I get disrespected before I even play,” she tells 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.”
“For the most part, I feel equal,” she adds. “But there’s been a lot of times when I feel disrespected or lesser, which is not cool. At the same time, being young and a girl is an advantage. There’s a lot of other people who are in that position, so I view it as an advantage — and a disadvantage.”
Bowers also had to shake off accusations that she’s backed by wealthy parents having self-funded her debut record Wine on Venus (with the Hodge Podge band).
“I’m still paying off the record we made,” Bowers clears up. “People online are like, ‘Her parents paid for it,’ ‘She comes from a rich background’ or ‘Her family was in the music business.’ None of that’s true.”
“With every single show I play, I’m not seeing any of that money because it’s going toward the record. That’s how much I believed in it.”
Ultimately, though, she’s shrugged off the negativity aimed at her and let her music do the talking. Nancy Wilson of Heart has said she has “a significant” voice on the guitar, thanks in part to her ability to produce “melodically conversational shredding as opposed to just wanking off”.
Speaking of the positive effects of her rise to stardom before being old enough to order a drink to celebrate it, she said: “I see people my own age in the audience, and their minds are blown. I’m making this stuff sound new to them.”
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