ANTHONY GOMES

"Gomes is a power player who is at his best when his gear is in the scorched earth between blues and rock. After all, it's the electric guitar; sometimes tickling it is not enough." - Guitar World Magazine

With a guitar slung over his shoulder and the amps cranked to full tilt, Anthony Gomes stands at the crossroads of blues and rock, electrifying both genres with 21st-century fire. The Canadian vo-calist, guitarist, songwriter, and producer delivers performances with the force of a Delta hurricane and fretwork intense enough to set his strings ablaze.

Over the years, Gomes has topped the Billboard Blues Chart at #1, earned praise from legends like B.B. King, racked up tens of millions of streams, and played to packed crowds across the globe. Now, in April 2025, he returns with his highly anticipated 14th studio album, Praise the Loud, released on Rat Pak Records.

"I've learned how to embrace my voice as a guitarist and singer," Gomes says. "I know who I am. I have a blues soul and a rock 'n' roll heart, and I love bouncing between the two with a modern edge. When I play rock, it's got a little more dust on it."

Born and raised in Toronto, Gomes discovered music early, inspired by icons like Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Eddie Van Halen. At 14, he picked up a guitar and never looked back. His talent caught the attention of B.B. King's tour bus driver at a local jam night, leading to an invitation to open for the blues legend in 2005. That opportunity launched a career that's seen Gomes share the stage with Buddy Guy, Robert Plant, Joe Bonamassa, Heart, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and more. Even Eric Clapton, Morgan Freeman, John Goodman, and Vince Vaughn have attended his shows.

In 2022, his album High Voltage Blues soared to #1 on the iTunes Top Blues Albums Chart, Amazon Music's New Release Blues Chart, and Billboard's Blues Chart, remaining there for 58 straight weeks. The album landed on Billboard's Top 15 Blues Albums of the Year for both 2023 and 2024.

His guitar prowess hasn't gone unnoticed: Total Guitar named him one of the "100 Greatest Blues Guitarists of All Time" in 2024, and Guitar World readers voted him among the "30 Best Blues Guitarists in the World Today." The magazine called him "a power player who is at his best when his gear is in the scorched earth between blues and rock."

Now, with Praise the Loud, Gomes delivers 12 new tracks that push his sound further while staying true to the hard-hitting blues rock that built his fanbase.

"On Praise the Loud, we pushed our musical boundaries in every direction," he says. "We wanted it to rock harder than anything we've done before, but also carry more soul. When people ask what I sound like, I say, 'If B.B. King was in AC/DC, that's what it would be.' That's Praise the Loud in a nutshell."

He points to the track "Rock & Roll Bluesman" as the album's heart. "My favorite line is, 'I don't care if they love or hate us, gonna turn it up so they won't forget us! That lyric captures the spirit of the whole record-playing blues rock on our own terms."

From the high-octane title track to the ZZ Top-inspired swagger of "Netflix & Chill," the album covers a wide emotional range. Tracks like "Meet My Maker," "Black Diamond Heavy," and "Electric Blues Crusade" showcase his adventurous spirit and lyrical growth, while "Love Song Gone Wrong" and "In the Name of the Blues" highlight his signature guitar work. Produced by Gomes and Peter Carson, and mixed by Chris Collier, Praise the Loud hits hard with the power and soul fans have come to expect.

In the end, Anthony Gomes remains a true modern guitar hero.

"I still believe in guitar heroes," he says. "You don't have to be 19 to make great music, sell records, or move people. Rock and blues aren't dead-I'm just finding new ways to bring them together. I'm all in. I'm here for the journey. This is the most exciting time for music, and I'm ready to turn it up."