Silky’s Saturday Smoke Out: Johnny Hiland Edition

After listening to, and watching performances by, legendary guitarists like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, it’s hard for up-and-coming guitar players to show me something I haven’t seen or heard before.  Well a friend recently told me about a guitarist named Johnny Hiland (pronounced Hi-Land), and I was completely blown away after listening to his stuff.  This virtuoso was born legally blind, but that didn’t stop him from picking up the git fiddle at an early age.  At age 8, he had joined his family’s band, and by age 10 he won a contest which took him to New York City for a performance.  Although he grew up mainly listening to bluegrass music, Hiland’s musical influences also includes names like Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  So sit back, and enjoy some music from the best guitar player you’ve never heard of:

The camera work on the first two videos is shaky, but it doesn’t detract from Johnny’s face-melting guitar licks:

If you want to learn more about the man behind the guitar, visit Johnny Hiland’s Official Website