Fast-rising blues rock electric guitar star Grace Bowers has dropped her latest single – and it’s a cover of Led Zeppelin’s Going to California, which has premiered on Guitar World.
Armed with her trusty Gibson SG, the occasional Fender Strat, and her loyal Hodge Podge backing band, the 18-year-old sensation has fast become one of the biggest names in guitar – and the hottest name in blues – over the past few months.
In the space of just three months, Bowers has released her debut album, made her late-night US talk show debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, donned a Strat to cover two Stevie Ray Vaughan classics, and sat down with Guitar World to discuss her love of the SG.
Now, in the latest development to her skyrocketing career, Bowers has tackled another iconic hard rock cut, recruiting an all-star all-female band for a melancholic take on Led Zeppelin’s Going to California.
As a California native and long admirer of Page’s playing, the cover means a great deal to Bowers, who takes the opportunity to treat the atmospheric acoustic cut to some sizzling, cinematic leads that pay homage to Page’s original efforts.
It’s certainly a change of pace for Bowers, who has received plaudits from the likes of Nancy Wilson, Brian May, Susan Tedeschi and more for her untethered, hard-hitting blues rock style.
Bowers’ band for the track features vocalists Lucie Silvas and Caroline Jones, mandolin player Sierra Hull, and strings duo SistaStrings.
“I picked that song because I did a charity show in June in Nashville, and it was me, Caroline Jones and Sierra Hull,” Bowers tells Guitar World of her new single. “We were on stage, and we played that song together, and the whole room was dead quiet.
“It was just such a moment. I realized that while we were playing, and just wanted to capture that.”
Honoring Page’s playing was one thing, but being able to do so alongside a group of musicians she admires made the experience all the more sweeter.
“I think it's really cool that it's all women on it, and all women who I really look up to as well, because they're all incredibly talented,” she continues. “It’s always been such a special song to me, being from California, and also, just loving Jimmy Page’s playing on that.”
Though this track sees Bowers take an acoustic turn, expect her to return to the comfort of her Gibson SG soon – and don’t expect to see her revisit the acoustic again any time soon. As she explains to Guitar World, she has no plans to release anything similar.
“We stayed pretty truthful to the original, while giving it a deeper sound, I would say,” she concludes. “I'm definitely excited for people to hear it because it's very different from what I have put out.
“I don't think I'll do a whole lot of this kind of stuff because it does lean more on the acoustic, almost cinematic-sounding side of things, which is why I think it's so cool. It’s wildly different from what I have put out and from what I plan to put out, so that's a cool thing. It’ll appeal to a different audience, I'm sure.”
Grace Bowers is set to go on tour later this month. Visit her website for a full list of dates.
- Grace Bowers' cover of Going to California is available to stream now. Her debut album, The Wine On Venus, is also available now.
