Lindsay Ell might very well be your favorite artist's favorite guitarist. Having been mentored by Randy Bachman, opened for Chris Isaak, collaborated with Keith Urban, and recently played side by side with Shania Twain – including at last year's Glastonbury Festival and Las Vegas residency shows – it's safe to say that the Canadian guitarist and singer-songwriter has hustled hard to hone her craft and establish herself as a versatile guitarist and artist.
Aside from these big names, Ell also cut her teeth touring with Buddy Guy as a teenager after being invited by the veteran blues guitarist to play at his Legends club in Chicago.
“I remember the first time I did that, I wasn’t 18 yet,” she tells Spin. “And so I was just this tiny little blonde girl in this blues club. And I sat in this chained-off section of the club because I was so underage. Buddy used to do a residency there every January.
“And so he invited me up and he was like, ‘This is Lindsay Ell and she’s going to play some blues with me.’ And I didn’t even know what we would play. He would just be like, ‘Honey, we’re in G.’ And I’d be like, ‘Okay, here we go.’”
Speaking more about this quasi-surreal experience to Guitar World back in 2013, Ell said, “Getting to meet and share the stage with Buddy was a humbling experience.
“We were touring Canada with him, and I remember one night I was sitting side-stage watching his set when he turned to the crowd and said, ‘How about that Lindsay Ell? You know, I might just have her out in a bit.’
She continued, “I had no idea he was going to do that! I quickly grabbed my guitar just as he invited me out on stage. He's so infectious when he picks up a guitar and will always be a huge inspiration to me.”
Elsewhere in her Spin interview, Ell reflects on another early mentor – Randy Bachman.
“He would sit in the studio and play all of these crazy jazz chords up and down the neck,” recalls the guitarist.
“And I’d just sit there as my 13-year-old self and be like, ‘Randy, what are those?’ He learned to play guitar from a jazz guitarist, Lenny Breau. And so a lot of his songwriting and chords that he uses are very influenced by jazz.”
Another once-in-a-lifetime experience came by way of fellow Canadian Shania Twain – and while Ell never saw herself sidemanning, she recently revealed how the Queen of Country Pop made her an offer she simply couldn’t refuse.
