Best Young Guitarists 40ish & Under: Yvette Young
Age: 32
Bands: Covet
Essential Album: Currents by Covet
Yvette creates beautiful, winding mazes of melodies on her guitar that just seem to flow out of her like water. She plays with an intricate two-hand tapping technique and a finger-picking style, which she makes seem absolutely effortless. She uses lots of interesting tunings, and from time to time, she actually busts out a seven-string guitar. She also plays piano and violin at a near-virtuosic level. But no matter what instrument she is playing, Yvette’s songs always have the same flowing, gentle, but urgent sound like a river bubbling over the rocks.
I first heard of her from Rick Beato in his list of young guitarists to watch. I watched a few of her videos on youtube, and I was intrigued but not blown away at first. Then, I saw her with her mathy, post-rock band Covet on an episode of Audiotree Live. That’s when her playing really turned my brain into mashed potatoes, and I became obsessed with her music for about the next month. Personally, I think her electric guitar with Covet is her best work, but her solo work is also incredibly compelling on guitar, piano, and violin. She is a true musical artist who started out as a classical music prodigy and then really found herself as a self-taught guitar wizard.
HERE is the Audiotree Live session with her band Covet that first got me into her music.
HERE is her youtube channel where she displays her mind-boggling musical skills.
