Guest
Melanie Faye covering Jimi Hendrix's “Little Wing“ and Mariah Carey's “My All“ at Summit LA18's Closing Plenary Show. Melanie Faye Praised for her “divine guitar skills” by Fader, the Tennessee native melds melodic jazz, rhythmic funk, and soulful R&B into an intoxicating and hypnotic blend that belies her young age. While Hendrix comparisons may be an inevitable rite of passage for any brilliant black guitarist, especially one with a stunning look and throwback style like Faye, her music actually shares more in common with Stevie Wonder, commanding your attention through a tender, understated sophistication rather than any virtuosic display of fireworks. She counts Michael Jackson among her biggest inspirations, and it’s not hard to hear hints of Eric Johnson as her fingers glide across the fretboard, but there’s no denying that Faye is a uniquely modern artist: raised a Jehovah’s Witness by chemist parents, she counts R&B star SZA among her earliest fans, and her first exposure to her instrument came through the Guitar Hero video games. It may be an unconventional origin story, but there’s nothing conventional about Faye, and that’s just the way she likes it. --- Interested in attending Summit events? Apply at Connect with Summit:
