eiliDh McKellaR

C h Visu A ls: K I r STEN M C K E llar

‘she’s nineteen years olD’ Was once Famously sunG by m uDDy Waters. he miGht Well have been sinGinG about the talenteD Guitarist, scottish born eiliDh mckellar. eiliDh (PronounceD ay lay) has been makinG PeoPle sit uP anD take note in Guest aPPearances With joe bonamassa. her Debut album is Due in 2014

Idon’t know why I wanted to play the guitar or what got me interested. Maybe it was my primary three school teacher who would bring his guitar into school everyday? Or was it from watching bands perform on Top Of The Pops every weekend? No one in my family plays an instrument, so it was unknown territory for my parents.

I had my first guitar lesson when I was 9 years old. Immediately I fell in love with the instrument. Everyday I would spend my time searching for new music to jam to.

I first heard the blues listening to my dad’s Rolling Stones collection. From there I discovered the likes of Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and Eric Clapton, through my own studious research. This led me to rock music. I remember my dad buying me Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix tab books when I was ten. I would sit and work my way through each song, scrutinizing every one of their licks.

During my high school years my musical ears were broadened. I played in a number of school bands, we would play rock, baroque, classical, prog rock and jazz music. I never even considered it an option to become a musician, I never thought I was good enough. It wasn’t until I uploaded my first video to YouTube that I realised that it was possibility. In 2011 I received an email from a guitar hero of mine, Joe Bonamassa. He invited me to join him on stage at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. His dad had shown him a video I had uploaded, covering his song ‘Blues Deluxe’. Since then it has been a whirlwind! I have had the honour of guesting with Joe Bonamassa twice more at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 2012 and this year at the Manchester Arena.

In 2012 I also met my manager, Guy Eckstine, who has produced many Grammy winning records. Guy asked if I could sing, I told him that ‘I hadn’t ever tried’ and so in the past year I have started singing and written a lot of songs. In April I flew out to Los Angeles, California to record my debut album Delta Devil Dreams, which to date has been one of the most surreal experiences of my life.

I am 19 years old and currently in my final year at

Leeds College of Music. I am now a singer/songwriter and guitarist. I just released my first ever single and music video for the lead track, ‘Summer Daze’ from my album. This was exclusively premiered on Guitar World.com. At the moment I’m rehearsing with my band getting ready to hit the road. I want to make an impact on the music industry with my Indie Rock/ Pop, Blues style. You can visit my web page: www. eilidhmckellar.com, or my Facebook fan page for upcoming events.

Summer daze i S available now from itune S