Country music artist Dierks Bentley started playing the electric guitar when he was only 13 years old. In 2003 he signed with Capitol Records and released his self-titled debut album. In total, Bentley has released six studio albums and number seven will be released late in 2013.

Born in Phoenix Arizona, Dierks inherited his love of music from his father. At the age of 19, he moved to Nashville and took a job with the Nashville Network researching old footage of country performances. Not happy with the Nashville scene, he turned to bluegrass to help establish his own sound. Although he used the bluegrass sound, he isn

Alice in Chains was formed as grunge music was beginning. In 1987, Jerry Cantrell formed the band with singer Layne Staley, and soon afterward, the duo added Sean Kinney on drums and Mike Starr on bass. Mike Starr was later replaced with bassist Mike Inez. Although some of the music written and performed by Alice in Chains can be considered grunge music, some of the band’s music has more of a heavy metal sound, while other songs by the band fit into the acoustic genre. The band’s influences include metal, punk, funk and rock & roll. Hits and well-known songs include “Man in the Box,” from their first album, Facelift, and “Would,” from the Singles soundtrack. Other hits are “Them Bones,” “Rooster,” and “Down in a Hole” from their second album, Dirt, and “I Stay Away” and “No Excuses” from their third album, Jar of Flies. They also released a album simply titled “Alice in Chains” that included the popular song “Heaven Beside You.”

The band gained recognition for the unique quality of their vocals, which frequently blended harmonies between Staley and Cantrell. Staley also earned acclaim for lead vocals that have been described as simultaneously powerful and vulnerable and

Johnny Cash is a well-known country artist who flourished between the 1950s and the early 21st century. He remained successful and continued to record until his death in 2003. Throughout his career he has performed as a solo artist as well as with his wife, June Carter Cash, and with backup bands that added bass and lead guitar elements to Johnny’s vocals and rhythm guitar.

Although Johnny Cash began singing and songwriting when he was just a child, he didn’t formally get involved with a band until he moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1954. He formed his first band with Luther Perkins, who played guitar, and Marshall Grant, who played bass. The style of their early music was rockabilly, and Johnny’s early musical influences included gospel music and popular country music that was played on the radio as well as music by Irish artist Dennis Day.

A key component of Johnny Cash’s sound is his bass-baritone vocal range, and during his career, he belted out deep notes too low for many other singers. He also usually played acoustic guitar rather than electric guitar, and typically played Martin guitars. This gave his music a distinctly rich and acoustic sound. Cash was

Formed in Southern California in 1996, alternative metal band Linkin Park quickly rose to the top of the rock / hip-hop genre made popular by Korn and Limp Bizkit. The band mixes DJ skills with buzz-heavy guitars that has set itself apart from its predecessors. Xero, Linkin Park’s predecessor formed in1996, was met with little interest. In 1998, the band briefly changed its name to Hybrid Theory, before finallysettling on Linkin Park. Linkin Park signed with Warner Brothers in 1999 and has released five studio albums. They have achieved international fame and multi-platinum success with their debut album,Hybrid Theory. Linkin Park’s second release, Meteora, topped the 2003 Billboard Top 200 chart andcontinued their nu / rap metal successes.

Lead vocalist and co-writer Chester Bennington joined Linkin Park in 1999. Originally from Arizona, his post-grunge, aggressive vocals elevated Linkin Park above its nu grunge contemporaries.

Brad Delson, the lead guitarist for Linkin Park, graduated from UCLA, where he met bassist David Farrell. Delson has played over 60 guitars in his time, but his signature instrument is the PRS Custom 24. He has also playedthe Ibanez RG7620 (a seven string guitar) and a customized black Ibanez AX120.

Mike Shinoda, performs vocals and

Rush is a three-man eclectic rock band that started in Toronto, Canada in 1968. Geddy Lee is the lead vocalist, bassist and keyboardist, Alex Lifeson plays guitar and sings backup vocals, and Neil Peart is the drummer and lyricist. In 1974, Rush produced their first self-entitled album, Rush, containing influences of blues, heavy metal and Led Zeppelin. The most popular song, Working Man, from this album is still a huge hit with blue-collar hard rock fans. This band is best known for their rock operas, complex musical compositions and lyrics, with a touch of fantasy, science fiction and philosophical notions throughout. With a discography of over 20 albums, the most popular include Rush, 2112, Hemispheres, A Farewell to Kinds, Permanent Waves and Fly by Night.

Geddy Lee has a clear, high tenor vocal quality that many fans compare to Robert Plant, lead vocalist of Led Zeppelin. Not only does Geddy sing, he composes lyrics, plays synthesizers and a Rickenbacker Bass, but he started using the Fender Precision Bass in 1981. Geddy’s rockin’ bass licks continue to influence current bass greats such as Les Claypool of Primus and Cliff Burton of Metallica. In the beginning, Lee used two Ampeg SVTs that

The Allman Brothers Band is blues-style rock band from Daytona, Florida thatstarted in 1969. Original members include Gregg Allman on vocals, organand guitar, and his brother Duane Allman on guitar and slide guitar. Dickey Betts plays guitar and slide guitar, Berry Oakley plays bass, with Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson on drums. The band originated the southern rock genre by incorporating blues, jazz and country with jam band style collaboration. Duane Allman passed away from a motorcycle accident in 1971 during the band’s recording of their hit album Eat aPeach. Berry Oakley died only days later from another motorcycle accident. Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule leant his phenomenal guitar playing during the 2000s, which revamped the band after years of inactivity.

Dickie Betts is known as the unofficial leader of the Allman Brothers Band due to his song writing, singing and guitar playing. He won a Grammy Award for his instrumental performance of “Jessica.” He has a twin harmonic and melodic guitar sound when he plays in collaboration with Gregg. Dickie plays a classic 1961Gibson SG as a slide guitar, a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop, and he occasionally plays a Fender Stratocaster. He is also fond of

After three decades of performing sold-out concerts and selling millions of successful albums, Van Halen are recognized as one of the most resilient and hard-working rock acts to emerge from America. In 1974, brothers Eddie and Alex quit their classical piano lessons to take up guitar (Alex) and drums (Eddie), although after Alex outperformed on the drums, they eventually switched. Taking influence from Eric Clapton, Cream and LedZeppelin, they started a band called Mammoth in their hometown of Pasadena, where they met singer David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony. Mammoth hit the L.A. scene, and within a few years they became one of the top-billed acts rocking the clubs, fans packing into the smoky venues to witness Eddie’s perpetually evolving and unique guitar style.

Considering a name change, frontman Roth suggested they change their name to Van Halen. Their big break came in 1978 thanks to Kiss bassist Gene Simmons – after witnessing their dynamic stage presence, he financed a recording session for them, and legend has it he also tipped them off to label Warner Brothers. Van Halen’s fame came during the birth of MTV, and their big hits “Jump”, “Panama” and “Hot For Teacher” saw constant video

Garth Brooks is a country music artist born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and living in the United States. He has won over 100 awards for his music including two Grammys, 11 awards by the Country Music Association and 18 awards by the Academy of Country Music. Brooks grew up playing the guitar as well as the banjo, although he didn’t begin a career as a professional musician until after he graduated from college. He listened to both country and rock music, citing George Jones, Townes Van Zandt, George Strait, James Taylor and Dan Fogelberg as influences. Some of Brooks’ hits and most well-known songs are “The Dance,” “Friends in Low Places,” “The Thunder Rolls,” “Rodeo” and “Standing Outside the Fire.” Brooks plays rhythm guitar and sings lead vocals, and his music has enjoyed crossover success on country and pop music charts.

In many of his videos and performances, Garth Brooks is playing a Takamine GB7C acoustic guitar. Although Brooks is known for combining elements of rock & roll music along with country music, he typically plays an acoustic guitar in concert and on his recordings. His songs do feature some rock & roll style electric guitar distortion, however. Brooks sometimes plays

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 multipleVocal awards. Blake