Oklahoma born country singer and songwriter, Blake Shelton began his music career touring the bar circuit aged 16, influenced by artists such as Garth Brooks, Faith Hill and Willie Nelson. Here he continued to gain enough statewide attention to earn himself the Denbo Diamond Award, a top award for young entertainers in Oklahoma. After graduating high school his first job entailed painting a house, and although not realizing his pure talent, he signed to Giant Records soon after. His first single, “I Wanna Talk About Me” from his self-titled album was initially ditched, however, it was later recorded and it became a number 1 hit. Giant Records closed shortly after and he moved on to Warner Brothers. Both albums “The Dreamer” and “Blake Shelton’s Barn and Grill” went gold. A few of his many number 1 hits include “The Baby”, “Home”, “Austin”, “Hillbilly Bone” and “All About Tonight”. Blake has worked with many studio musicians throughout his career and his dedicated touring members include guitarist Beau Tackett, pedal steel guitarist Kevin Post, drummer Tracy Broussard and bass player Rob Byus.

Blake Shelton’s clean and warm vocals set him apart from the rest, his distinctive tone winning him multiple Vocal awards. Blake plays a Takamine solid top acoustic and now has a signature model made by Michael Kelly Guitars. His Patriot series’ shape is inspired by Les Paul and features a single humbucker, capable of dealing with anything from country to metal. Blake is a big fan of D’Addario strings and uses them on all of his guitars.

Taking inspiration from his brothers’ love of classic rock, Beau Tackett learned the guitar from an early age, listening to the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix and Chet Atkins. Live, Beau plays a Fender Strat, a Fender Telecaster, a Les Paul and a Paul Reed Smith. His blues influence shines through on some of Blake’s tracks.

Texan Kevin Post has been on the country scene for some time, playing guitars, including blue steel. After Kevin released solo albums, Blake Shelton dragged him back into the limelight by inviting him to go on tour. Kevin uses a custom Fender Strat with Virtual Vintage pickups and 6100 Dunlop frets. His country experience compliments Blake’s music perfectly.

Also inspired by Led Zeppelin and 80’s rock, Rob Byus taught himself the bass in high school. Being a loyal band member, he’s been playing with Blake Shelton since 1995. Other modern influences include The Foo Fighters, Incubus and Chuck Rainey. Rob plays a custom, lightweight bass made by guitar builder Mike Lull.

Tracy Broussard grew up surrounded by Jazz, Blues and Country. In 1999 he moved to Nashville, and has since been touring and playing drums for 13 years, 9 of those spent with Blake Shelton.

Blake Shelton and his band all play vital roles in achieving country perfection. Although some guitar parts sound fairly straight forward, achieving the perfect clarity and tone takes a bit of practice. Although Blake’s music is relatively basic, there are multiple guitar parts to choose from. The key to a clean tone and perfect accuracy is to start off slow, ensuring every note is executed with total clarity. Once you’ve achieved this, speed up and…

Keep Rockin’!!!