Knight of the Guitar Photos

McGarvey, Gooch, Sanchez, and Whitford tore it up at the Las Vegas Hilton! They only had about an hour, hour and a half to rehearse before the show, but you’d never know by the way they locked in and played as if they’d been playing together for years.




Ranging in age from 17 to 23, the guys played with a maturity well beyond their years. Each young man wears his passion for music on his sleeve. It’s evident in every note.







Another highlight of the evening was meeting Robert Knight, whose work I’ve admired for years. You’ve seen his photos. You just have. Especially if you’ve ever visited Guitar Center and seen the RockWalk. Knight’s photography transcends the mere visual recording of musicians in and out of their element — it has heart, it has soul, and it sings, baby! I’d dare say what makes his images so good is the fact that he truly seems to enjoy his subjects as people and not just as a job. And for every photograph he’s ever created, there are probably a thousand more he didn’t take because he respected the performers so much.



One of my favorite Knight images is John Lee Hooker. I walked right up to the photograph in the gallery and it took my breath away. The set of Hooker’s mouth, the tie, the socks, the hands…all absolutely perfect. And then I read the story that accompanied the image and had to laugh when it said something to the effect of “best socks he’d ever seen”. Forgive the fuzzy memory. I’ve yet to go to sleep. Basically, each image in the gallery had a corresponding story and they were all fascinating. Equally fascinating were Maryanne Bilham‘s works.



Brilliant. That’s all I can say.

Las Vegas Knight of the Guitar

Las Vegas gets a dose of the best medicine around — great music from some of America’s hottest young guns.

Four of the country’s hottest young guitar players will show you where the world of rock is headed in Knight of the Guitar on Friday, May 28 at 8 p.m. Josh Gooch, Ryan McGarvey, Graham Whitford and Yayo Sanchez will be accompanied by Tony “The Fretless Monster” Franklin on bass and Chris Fraiser on drums in this celebration of the grand opening of the Knight Gallery inside the Las Vegas Hilton.



The Knight Gallery offers the works of celebrated rock photographer Robert M. Knight, as well as those of his talented wife, photographer Maryanne Bilham. Knight has captured iconic images of music legends including Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Carlos Santana, Van Halen and many, many more. His images are quintessential pieces of pop-culture mythology. Knight has also been a discoverer of young talent and has been called a “Rock Prophet,” giving way to the Knight of the Guitar event, featuring these up-and-coming performers.



Date: Friday, May 28

Time: 8 PM

Price: $15 (tax and service charge included)

Location: Hilton Theater

Call the Las Vegas Hilton Box Office (24 hours a day) at 800-222-5361 for tickets or purchase online