Pedal Power Guitar master Joe Bonamassa shoots from the hip about selecting the right effects pedal For a guitarist on a quest for the ultimate pedalboard setup, the sheer number of options can make any search downright bewildering. There’s a seemingly endless supply of cutting-edge digital varieties guaranteed to pack entire guitar rigs into a single pedal. But there are also plenty of vintage classics and even hand-built boutique rarities to... 

NATHAN EAST With his first solo album, the renowned bassist shortens his bucket list By Jeff Tamarkin For more than four decades, Nathan East has contributed dynamic and innovative basslines to recordings and live performances by a vast array of artists, including Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé and duo Daft Punk, whose Grammy-winning platinum album Random Access Memories features East on 10 tracks, including the smash “Get... 

AIMEE MANN & TED LEO                        Creative chemistry turns songwriting buddies into new duo the Both   She’s a Grammy- and Academy Award-nominated songwriter; he’s a socially conscious punk-rocker. Together, Aimee Mann and Ted Leo turned a friendship honed online into a new project they’re calling the Both. What began as an onstage collaboration grew into plans for an EP, which then expanded into a self-titled album... 

RODNEY CROWELL For the veteran songwriter, patience is the key to creative success   In 2010, Rodney Crowell began the album that would become Tarpaper Sky, recording half a dozen songs before getting sidetracked with other projects: Kin, a collection of songs he wrote with memoirist Mary Karr, and last year’s Grammy-winning Old Yellow Moon, a collaboration with longtime friend Emmylou Harris. “Those beautiful women got my mind off my work,”... 

CONOR OBERST  The Bright Eyes frontman releases a new solo album More than a decade ago, Omaha native Conor Oberst—as Bright Eyes—ignited the neo-folk movement and put Nebraska indie label Saddle Creek on the map. Since then the singer-songwriter has recorded as part of a number of different groups, including Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. But for his latest, his Nonesuch Records debut Upside Down Mountain, Oberst goes it alone. The... 

JACK BRUCE The legendary bass ace returns with his first solo album in a decade Jack Bruce cemented his legacy when he composed one of rock’s most enduring riffs—the signature bassline of “Sunshine of Your Love.” But his many contributions to the 1960s supergroup Cream—which he formed with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker—comprise but a fragment of a career that’s veered from jazz to metal to R&B. In the years since Cream broke up,... 

ROXANNA HOMETOWN: Tehran, Iran INFLUENCES: Julio Iglesias, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Jackson ALBUM: Exotica, out now WEBSITE: roxannamusic.com A native of Tehran, Roxanna has fond memories of a childhood spent listening to her idol, Olivia Newton-John. When her family immigrated to Istanbul, Turkey, during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, she expanded her horizons. “It opened my heart so much more,” she says. “I was able to catch up with the... 

MALINA MOYE HOMETOWN: Cleveland, Ohio INFLUENCES: Prince, Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic ALBUM: Rock & Roll Baby, due out in October WEBSITE: malinamoye.com Malina Moye boasts an impressive musical pedigree: Her father was a session bassist and her mother sang backing vocals for Tina Turner. Following in their footsteps, Moye began playing guitar at 9, and fronted the family R&B group Les Moye Ice as a teenager. With a distinctive upside-down... 

CHELSEA BAIN HOMETOWN: Phoenix, Ariz. influences: Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Strait ALBUM: All American Country Girl EP, out now WEBSITE: chelseabainmusic.com Chelsea Bain grew up riding horses—a pastime that became serious. A testament to her prowess, she won a dozen national and world championship titles from the American Paint Horse Association. “I’m always up for a good challenge,” she says. “Growing up in that environment made...