Billy Rogan

Billy Rogan’s playing has developed along two distinct but connected paths: solo acoustic guitar and the electric, improvisational work of the Salt Lake jam-rock band Loom.

On his own, Rogan explores the range of a single guitar through fingerstyle playing, open tunings, rhythmic independence, vocals, and arrangements that allow melody, harmony, and bass to move together. His instrumental work received Best Instrumental at the International Acoustic Music Awards, but the focus has remained on the possibilities of the instrument itself.

With Loom, that approach opens outward. Electric guitar, collective improvisation, and songs that can stretch well beyond their original form replace the more deliberate architecture of the solo setting.

The two sides continually inform one another: the independence required to make one guitar carry an arrangement, and the listening required to leave space for a band to take the music somewhere unexpected.