Eric Johnson

One of the most outstanding instrumentalists in rock over the past 40 years, Texas guitarist Eric Johnson was already a legend before he recorded his first album. By the early 1980s, many celebrated guitarists were singing the praises of this skinny kid from Austin with the mind-melting chops.

Comparisons were made to such guitar heroes as Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix. When he joined the '70s Austin fusion band Electromagnets, they were being hailed as "the Mahavishnu Orchestra of Texas".

With the release of his highly anticipated 1986 solo debut album Tones, the underground guitar legend finally emerged fully formed. It landed him on the cover of Guitar Player magazine, which hailed the album as a "majestic debut", and earned him his first Grammy nomination for the song "Zap".

The follow-up album, 1990's platinum-selling Ah Via Musicom, contained the Grammy Award–winning song "Cliffs of Dover" and helped Eric Johnson become an international guitar phenomenon.

The New Age Music Guide once wrote that "Eric Johnson plays guitar the way Michelangelo painted ceilings: with a colorful vibrancy that's more real than life." Rolling Stone included him in their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of the 21st century.

A dynamic singer as well as an incredibly gifted guitarist, a pianist and a prolific songwriter, Eric has been featured on the cover of countless guitar magazines worldwide. Since 1986 he has released seventeen albums, in addition to albums with other artists such as Eclectic with jazz guitarist Mike Stern, and the platinum-selling G3 Live with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.

Eric has received eight Grammy nominations along with numerous other recognitions. Among his accolades are a GRAMMY award in 1992 for "Cliffs of Dover" as Best Rock Instrumental Performance, lifetime induction into the Guitar Player Gallery of Greats, and a listing among the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine.

In his hometown of Austin, Texas, readers of the Austin Chronicle voted Eric Johnson the city's "Best Electric Guitarist" and "Best Acoustic Guitarist" year after year. They also named him "Electric Guitarist of the Decade" and one of the top five "Musicians of the Decade".

In February 2024 Eric was honored with induction into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association Hall of Fame.

Recent activity and tours:
- 2023: 'Treasure Tour', 67 US dates split between a Spring and a Fall tour.
- January–February 2024: joined the 'G3 Reunion Tour' with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai; the resulting new live album from the tour will be released in January 2025.
- August 2024: a run of dates in the north and northeast, including the Backroads Blues Festival in New York.
- September–October 2024: featured performer on the 'Experience Hendrix 2024 Tour', crossing the country from Washington state to Florida.
- March–April 2025: rejoined the 'Experience Hendrix 2025 Tour' throughout the east and northeast USA and Canada.

Over the course of more than four decades, Eric Johnson has traveled a prolific odyssey. His creations have cross-pollinated rock, blues, jazz, fusion, soul, folk, new-age, classical and even country. As he puts it, "It really boils down to the music and the song at the end of the day. The most important thing for me is to grow musically and make a more expansive and meaningful artistic statement with every new project."