Artist Craig Wilson recently jointed the Breedlove artist roster and community. Craig Wilson is a songwriter/ producer/ multi-instrumentalist/ and artist coach that splits his time between his home is Nashville TN, New York City, and Los Angeles CA. Craig has appeared at the Grand Ole Opry, The Bridgestone Arena, Met Life stadium, The T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and many others. Craig has performed at CMA Fest spotlight stage in Nashville TN, The Indianapolis 500, Country Thunder Festival in Wisconsin and many other festivals around the country. He has performed alongside major artists such as Rachel Platten, Taylor Swift, Norah Jones, Avril Lavigne, and others. His songs have been featured in film and television on networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS, E!, MTV, VH1, Animal Planet, and Discovery Channel to name a few.
We recently caught up with Craig for a quick interview between his shows:
Q. When did you start playing guitar?
A. I started playing guitar at the age of 14. A friend of my brothers gifted me with an acoustic and one of the contractors working on the kitchen in my parent's house at the time was a guitar player in blues bands around Detroit (where I grew up). So he was my first teacher!
Q. How did you learn to play?
A. My first teacher was a blues player from Detroit who taught me for about a year. Then I started taking lessons from Aretha Franklins bass player for a few years. He would take me to a small club outside of Detroit called the Blue Goose Inn where he played bass in the House band on Wednesday nights. He would sit me on stage in a chair and tell me to “tap my foot and keep up”. Eric Clapton came in and played one night, Joe Perry etc… they all knew this place and the musicians and would come play. I got to be the 15-year-old kid literally sitting in lol
Q. Major influences?
A. Growing up I listened to a lot of Springsteen and Stevie Ray Vaughn. I was always into guys who could write AND play.
Q. What was your first “gig” or job in the music industry?
A. I used to play a club in Detroit called Club 500 every Wednesday night from 10-2am. That place taught me how to entertain and keep people interested with one guitar and one voice.
Q. Most memorable moment playing or performance?
A. Oh man…hard question…stepping foot on the Opry stage was pretty epic. Playing a song that I wrote in that historic venue was amazing. The Bluebird Cafe is another venue that is incredible and legendary. Obviously, any arena show I play is its own monster! I’m a very blessed guy!
Q. Favorite venue to play?
A. I adore playing the Bitter End in NYC. So much history in those walls. It was my first real gig in NYC and I’ll always be grateful to the late Ken Gorka for taking a chance and booking me in those early years.
