No. 358 Summer 2026

On the Cover: Jorma Kaukonen
Ever since he released his solo guitar masterpiece “Embryonic Journey,” on Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow, Jorma Kaukonen has been a fixture in the acoustic guitar world, known for bringing together various roots approaches in a style all his own. Veteran music journalist and former AG editor Blair Jackson caught Kaukonen live in San Francisco around the time of the guitarist’s 85th birthday, then had a wide-ranging conversation about his formative years and decades-long career in music. 

Special Focus: Unlocking DADGAD Tuning
Guitarists of all stripes have been exploring the expressive possibilities of DADGAD, the open strings of which form a Dsus4 chord, for many years. In this issue’s special focus, fingerstyle ace Doug Young teaches the thinking and techniques behind great recorded moments by Laurence Juber, Pierre Bensusan, Kaki King, and others. Guitarist and educator Sean McGowan offers a lesson on Celtic ornamentation in the tuning, culminating in an arrangement of the traditional song “Banish Misfortune.” Also included is a note-for-note transcription of the Led Zeppelin classic “Black Mountain Side,” originally recorded in DADGAD, down a half step.  

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers brings a six-part series on soloing to a close by teaching how to solo with chord shapes up the neck. For Weekly Workout, Berklee professor Jane Miller shows how the half diminished seventh chord functions, and how to play it in context all over the fretboard. 

For the features department, guitarist and archivist Cameron Knowler profiles the Los Angeles–based musician Dylan Day, whose solo debut features beautiful fingerstyle and bottleneck guitar in open-D tuning. And in Guitar Talk, Brandon Ross chats about his penchant for Klein instruments and the intervallic thinking at the heart of his unique take on jazz and related idioms. 

More songs in the issue include a premiere of an accessible new tune by Julian Lage, “Ocala”; a relaxed arrangement of the traditional song “Hand Me Down My Walking Cane”; a unique arrangement of the classic “Hesitation Blues”; the fine cross-picking work of George Shuffler on “East Virginia Blues”; and “Pick Poor Robin Clean,” by the pioneering blues duo of Elvie Thomas and Geeshie Wiley. 

Also included is an in-depth review of the new Breedlove Roots Concert RTC-MMe, a profile of Rockbridge Guitar Company, a guide to regluing bridges, and more!