Anthony Gomes

Anthony Gomes

Anthony Gomes is a blues rock guitarist and singer from Toronto, Canada, born in 1970. He is of Portuguese and French-Canadian background, and he begins playing guitar in his early teens, developing an interest in blues artists including B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.

Education and early career

While playing in blues bars at night, Gomes earns a master’s degree from the University of Toronto in the racial evolution of blues. He later moves to Chicago in the late 1990s to learn from established blues musicians. During a short period as a sideman with Magic Slim and the Teardrops, he forms his own group and wins the first annual Buddy Guy’s Legends “Best Unsigned Blues Band” competition.

Recordings and releases

Gomes makes his recording debut in 1998 with Blues in Technicolor, which presents him as an energetic guitar-driven player. In 2000 he releases Sweet Stringin' Soul, an acoustic album that shows a different side of his playing. In 2002 he issues Unity.

Recognition and later work

In 2003 Gomes wins the BluesWax Artist of the Year award, and he continues to receive BluesWax Artist of the Year nominations in the following years. His 2006 album Music Is the Medicine reaches number four on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart and is produced by Jim Gaines. The record includes collaborations with Jim Peterik, Mark Selby and Tom Hambridge. In 2008, LIVE reaches number one on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart.

Style

Gomes’ work combines blues rock with high-energy, guitar-led playing. He describes his music as returning to the blues and to the roots of the style, and his releases reflect both electric and acoustic approaches.