Season 3, Episode 3: Yasmin Williams

Listen to the “Musical Mentors” interview recorded at last weekend’s Blue Ox Music Festival.

By Team JamBase Jun 29, 2023 • 3:02 pm PDT

Season Three of The JamBase Podcast continues with an interview with rising guitarist Yasmin Williams. JamBase’s Andy Kahn discussed Williams’ “Musical Mentors” and more backstage at the Blue Ox Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Williams performed on the Blue Ox Main Stage on Friday and captivated the audience with her singular approach to playing guitar. Williams’ path to playing festival stages began as a youth when she mastered the video game Guitar Hero. Transferring some of the skills she picked up from the game, Williams found success by approaching the instrument from a new perspective.

Williams detailed how she went from Guitar Hero — a mentor of sort — to electric guitar before settling on acoustic guitar. She discussed learning about music production in high school and how she still relies on that instruction. A self-taught musician, Williams also talked about the challenges she faced when she began studying music in college, which was aided by a particularly supportive professor.

Williams also went into how she started writing songs, her unexpected approach to titling her instrumental songs, covering Post Malone, collaborating with fellow ace guitarists like William Tyler and what she learned from recording and performing with Tommy Emmanuel. Williams ended the chat by revealing she’s at work on a new album that will feature several special guests, including vocalists.

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Stream Season Three, Episode Three and other past episodes of The JamBase Podcast via all major podcast services including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Podcast.