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THE best lineup of Top Guitar Players Anywhere. Period.

Welcome to the Lord of the Strings website! 

2023 marks our 21st year of bringing you the best in acoustic music!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

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BLACK MARKET TRUST

The Black Market Trust are an American Traditional Pop/Vocal Jazz group from Los Angeles who combine the sounds of the legendary American crooners and vocal groups with the fire and energy of Gypsy Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Consisting of five world class musicians who have traveled the globe recording and performing on the world’s biggest stages and with music’s most renowned artists, The Black Market Trust capitalize on their experience and pedigree to deliver a high energy, crowd pleasing performance filled with some of the best songs ever written.

The live show features material from The Great American Songbook infused with Django’s romantic and virtuosic flavor.  Add some intricate vocal harmonies, a dash of Rat Pack-style comedy and it’s clear to audiences why The Black Market Trust have quickly earned a reputation as one of the premier live acts performing in music today. Be transported as they meld two distinctly different vibes- one of a gypsy campfire, the other a slick metropolitan nightclub- into a cohesive, stylish sound.

One show only

Mission Viejo Civic Center
SATURDAY - April 20, 2024
​Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm.

Joscho Stephan Trio

JOSCHO STEPHAN TRIO

Joscho Stephan shapes modern gypsy swing with his playing like no other: With his authentic tone, his harmonic finesse and his sense of rhythm, but above all with his breathtaking solo technique, Stephan has earned himself an outstanding reputation on the international guitar scene. Like no other, he knows how to stand out from the multitude of current Gypsy Swing adaptations by combining Gypsy Swing with Latin, Classical and Rock, in addition to numerous interpretations of the well-known classics of the genre. This is where Stephan’s strength as a creative visionary shines through. The result is a delight for concert audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Joschos YouTube version of “Hey Joe” has now reached 3 million views. His debut album ‘Swinging Strings’ was voted CD of the month in 1999 by Guitar Player magazine.

In 2004, Acoustic Guitar Magazine celebrated Joscho Stephan as the future of gypsy jazz guitar. For the CD “Guitar Heroes” in 2015, Joscho Stephan invited guitar greats like Bireli Lagrène, Stochelo Rosenberg and Tommy Emmanuel. The 2018 production “Paris – Berlin” was released as a limited “Direct to Disc” vinyl, recorded at the legendary Hansa Studios (where David Bowie’s “Heroes” was recorded, among others). In total, 4 of Joscho’s albums have been nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award. In the USA, too, he has thrilled audiences with concerts in Nashville, Chicago, San Francisco, Detroit and at the legendary Jazz Festival. San Francisco, Detroit, the legendary jazz club Birdland and the Lincoln Center in New York. On the Australian continent, Joscho Stephan has toured with Tommy Emmanuel.

His current trio includes Sven Jungbeck (rhythm guitar) and Volker Kamp (double bass). The trio has been on the road since 2018 and has since played numerous tours and concerts. (e.g. in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Croatia, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Estonia).

One show only

Mission Viejo Civic Center
SATURDAY - June 1, 2024
​Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm.

Clive Carroll - 2

CLIVE CARROLL

Born in England, Clive began his musical journey in Chelmsford, Essex.  His parents had a taste for American country and old time music and it wasn’t long before Clive was playing in the family band on a homemade banjo.  By his early teens, guitar in hand, Clive was traversing the worlds of soul, pop, funk, and traditional Irish music, balancing his affinity for Slayer with the etudes of Tárrega.
This breadth of musical curiosity was to become one of his strengths; even as a kid Clive was as comfortable accompanying a group of folk singers as he was jamming along to Nirvana, or reading charts on banjo and guitar in theatre orchestra pits.

Clive went on to earn a 1st Class Honours Degree in Composition and Guitar from the famed Trinity College of Music in London, all the while balancing his classical work with forays into the world of the steel string guitar.  By the time he graduated from Trinity, Clive had not only penned orchestral works,  he had written an album’s worth of solo acoustic guitar music. A chance meeting with English guitar legend John Renbourn proved the catalyst for Clive’s debut album, “Sixth Sense”, which Renbourn deemed “a milestone in the journey of the steel-string guitar”.  He subsequently took Clive on the road with him and the pair toured North America and Europe together, launching Clive’s solo performing career.

Since then he has worked with guitar greats such as John Williams, Tommy Emmanuel, Xuefei Yang, Ralph Towner, D'Gary, and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. He has toured across Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and North America.
To date, Clive has released four solo albums; “Sixth Sense”, “The Red Guitar”, “Life in Colour” and "The Furthest Tree".
Clive has also written, performed, and conducted music for television and film, most notably collaborating with John Renbourn to compose the music for the film “Driving Lessons”, which features Julie Walters and Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame.

2000 -  “Probably the best and most original young acoustic guitarist/composer in Britain.” -  Acoustic Guitar Magazine USA
2021 - “...arguably the most accomplished fingerstylist in the world today...” - Total Guitar Magazine

One show only

Mission Viejo Civic Center
SATURDAY - July 20, 2024
​Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm.

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LAURENCE JUBER

GRAMMY® WINNER

GUITARIST FOR PAUL McCARTNEY’S WINGS

FINGERSTYLE GUITARIST OF THE YEAR

STUDIO MUSICIAN & COMPOSER

“Juber scores high marks for the clarion precision of his playing and for his tasteful arrangements” – Downbeat

“A Master!“-  Pete Townshend, The Who

“The melodies, textures and harmonies he coaxes out of an acoustic guitar are absolutely spellbinding.” – Guitar Player Magazine

“One of the world’s most remarkable acoustic guitarists.” – The South China Post

GRAMMY® winning guitarist Laurence Juber is a solo performer, recording artist, composer and arranger. His playing fuses folk, jazz, blues, pop and classical styles, creating a multi-faceted performance that belies the use of only one instrument.

A music graduate of London’s Goldsmith’s College, he was featured guitar soloist with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra before becoming established as a studio musician in the mid-1970’s. First internationally recognized as lead guitarist in Beatle Paul McCartney’s Wings, with whom he won a Grammy, Juber has since established himself as world-renowned guitar virtuoso and entertainer.

Juber, known to his fans as LJ, has recorded more than two dozen albums which spotlight his unique touch and tone on acoustic guitar. His latest release, A Day In My Life, is a collection of a dozen of his celebrated arrangements of Beatles songs recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios , where the band recorded most of their music. As well as being available on all the streaming services, it is being offered in a limited edition 180 gram vinyl LP format. His previous release, Select Blends,  is a ‘virtually’ live album pulled from his over 250 livestream performances during Covid lockdown.

His LJ Plays The Beatles was voted one of Acoustic Guitar Magazine’s all-time Top Ten albums. His solo arrangement of The Pink Panther Theme earned him a second Grammy, while his arrangement of Stand By Me was heard nationally in a Diamonds Are Forever commercial. Juber’s DVD-Audio project Guitar Noir (AIX Records) won a CES Demmy award for best audio.

Juber has four guitar folios in print. The latest, The Evolution of Fingerstyle Guitar was published by Hal Leonard in January 2019. His ‘photo memoir’ Guitar With Wings was recently published by Dalton Watson Fine Books.

As a studio musician, he can be heard on recordings from artists as diverse as Harry Styles, Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks, Seal and the French chanteuse Sylvie Vartin, plus he is featured on the soundtracks to hundreds of TV shows such as Home Improvement and movies including the academy award-winning Dirty Dancing, Good Will Hunting and Pocahontas.

Juber co-composed the soundtrack of the award-winning video game Diablo III and scored the NBC Dateline documentary Children Of The Harvest. His music is also featured in the Ken Burns’ documentary The Tenth Inning.

With his wife Hope, he composed the score to A Very Brady Musical and the ever-popular Gilligan’s Island: The Musical

He is the arranger for Part Of  The Plan, a musical featuring songs by Dan Fogelberg that was recently workshopped in London under the direction of Marc Bruni (director of Beautiful on Broadway.)

One show only

Mission Viejo Civic Center
SATURDAY - August 17, 2024
​Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm.

Martin Taylor
Alison-Burns

DR. MARTIN TAYLOR MBE & ALISON BURNS

GRAMMY nominated musician  Dr. Martin Taylor, MBE, is a virtuoso guitarist, composer, educator and musical innovator whom magazine calls  ‘THE Acoustic Guitarist of his Generation’.

Widely considered to be the world’s foremost exponent of solo jazz and fingerstyle guitar playing, Martin possesses an inimitable style that has earned him global acclaim from fellow musicians, fans and critics alike. He dazzles audiences with a signature style that artfully combines his virtuosity, emotion and humor with a strong, engaging stage presence.

Taylor has enjoyed a remarkable musical career spanning across five decades, with more than 100 recordings to his credit. Completely self-taught beginning at the early age of 4, he has invented and developed a unique way of playing the guitar that is greatly admired, and often emulated, by guitarists all over the world.

In addition to his solo concerts and recordings, he has also collaborated with musicians from many different musical genres, including: Jeff Beck, Tommy Emmanuel, Bill Wyman, Chet Atkins, Stephane Grappelli, David Grisman, George Harrison, Jamie Cullum, Bryn Terfel, Dianne Schuur and Gary Burton.

Taylor brings a rich and varied musical heritage to his play, to the extent that Tommy Emmanuel remarked that [Taylor] is “a portal into all that came before.”
Over his stellar career, Taylor has amassed a record 14 British Jazz Awards as a guitarist. Several of his albums have been in the Top 10 in the USA and Europe.

ALISON BURNS

“She has the ability, rare in all but the best jazz singers, to make even the most frequently heard, over-recorded standards sound fresh and interesting.” – Jazz Journal

“Burns’s voice strikes the right balance between sensitivity and power”
– HMV Choice

“Scotland’s foremost jazz singers” – Glasgow Herald

“Wonderful” – Michael Parkinson Show BBC Radio 2

“a collection of classic jazz torch songs set to race up the charts” – Daily Express

“Impressive….superb” – Crescendo Magazine

“Burns confirms her pedigree with the lightest of touches – imperceptibly hurrying a word here, turning another into a soft hoot, stretching a sound into a whispered glissando.” – The Guardian

“triumphant…a voice full of confidence and authority”
– China Sunday Morning Post

One show only

Mission Viejo Civic Center
SATURDAY - September 7, 2024
​Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm.

Transatlantic Guitar Trio

TRANSATLANTIC GUITAR TRIO

This extraordinary guitar trio features three very different members with very different backgrounds.  Richard Smith is an International Fingerstyle Guitar champion from London England.  He is a soloist and master of just about any and all guitar styles from Chet Atkins to Merle Travis to Jerry Reed to you name it!  Joscho Stephan is from Germany and a true superstar, known the world over for his sensational Django Reinhardt "Gypsy Jazz" style.  Joscho's guitar skills are so special you will be left breathless just watching him.  Rory Hoffman is from North Dakota and a master of many instruments from Guitar to keyboards, accordion, harmonica and all reed instruments.  Rory has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry many times as a soloist and sideman to Ricky Skaggs, Kathy Matea and Kacey Musgraves to name a few.  These three diverse styles  become so harmonious in the music they have created that audiences tend to cheer while watching "note play" bordering on the impossible!

One show only

Mission Viejo Civic Center
SATURDAY - September 21, 2024
​Doors: 6:30 pm
Show: 7:00 pm.