BIOGRAPHY
"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
With a guitar slung over his shoulder and the amps turned up full tilt, Anthony Gomes electrifies blues and rock at a 21st century crossroads of his own. The Canadian vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and producer wails with all the force of a hurricane in the Mississippi Delta and enough fret-burning fireworks to leave his strings in flames. Over the years, he’s toppled the Billboard Blues Chart at #1, earned the endorsement of legends such as B.B. King, tallied tens of millions of streams, and packed shows on multiple continents. In 2022, he makes his Rat Pak Records debut with High Voltage Blues, amplifying his soul and spirit like never before.
“I’ve learned how to embrace my voice as a guitarist and as a singer,” he states. “I understand who I am, and I use my strengths to my advantage. I have a blues soul and a rock ‘n’ roll heart. I love to jump back and forth between both with a modern day approach. When I play rock, it’s got a little more dust to it."
Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, he fell in love with music as a kid, listening to everyone from Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix to Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen. At 14 years old, Anthony gravitated to the guitar and his relationship with the instrument was born. After grinding it out, his chops caught the attention of B.B. King’s bus driver at a jam night. Blown away, the driver introduced him to B.B. who invited him to open up a string of tour dates in 2005. Gaining invaluable knowledge from “The King,” he went on to share the stage with the likes of Buddy Guy, Robert Plant, Joe Bonamassa, Heart, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and more. Along the way, his concert attendees have included Academy® Award winner Morgan Freeman, John Goodman, and Vince Vaughn as well as Eric Clapton, to name a few.
2018’s Peace, Love & Loud Guitars vaulted to #1 on the iTunes Top Blues Albums Chart and #1 on Amazon Music’s New Release Blues Chart. Meanwhile, Guitar World readers voted him one of “The 30 Best Blues Guitarists in the World Today” in 2019, and the publication noted, “Gomes is another power player who is at his best when his gear is in the scorched earth between blues and rock.” After seven consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Blues Albums Chart, Containment Blues marked his second #1 on the respective chart in 2020.
During 2021, he signed to Rat Pak Records and assembled High Voltage Blues, re-recording fan favorites from previous releases and cutting three new tunes. On five tracks, Ray Luzier of Korn and Billy Sheehan [Mr. Big, David Lee Roth, The Winery Dogs] handled drums and bass, respectively. Co-produced by Anthony and Peter Carson, sessions went down in St. Louis and Nashville.
“We had a lot of fun rocking these songs up,” he observes. “As an artist, it was great to circle back to some of my past work and look at it from a different perspective. Billy and Ray really pushed the way I play guitar, and they added a whole new element with a little insanity. When people ask me what I sound like, I say, ‘If B.B.
King was in AC/DC, that’s what it would be’. That’s High Voltage Blues in a nutshell.”
In the end, Anthony Gomes is just the kind of guitar hero we need for today.
“I’m either the last of a dying breed or the start of a new revolution,” he smiles. “I still believe in a world of guitar heroes. I strive for a world where you don’t have to be 19 years old to sell a lot of records and tickets and to make a statement. I’m one of those people who doesn’t think rock, or the blues is dead. I’m looking for fresh ways to bring them together. I’m at the table rolling the dice all in the name of blues and rock ‘n’ roll. I know there’s never been a more exciting time for music, and I’m here for the journey.”
HIGHLIGHTS
• High Voltage Blues (2022) debuts at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart and remains in the Top 10 for over 1 year, 58 weeks. This is Anthony's 8th consecutive album to crack the Billboard Top Ten and his third #1.
• Total Guitar, Europe's biggest guitar magazine, includes Gomes in their 'Top 100 Blues Guitarists of All Time' list (April 2024 issue).
• High Voltage Blues cracks the Top Ten on Billboard's 2023 Year End Blues Chart, making it one of the biggest selling blues albums of the year.
High Voltage Blues hits #1 on iTunes Blues Chart and Amazon's New Release Blues Chart.
• Anthony was highlighted in the July 2022 issue of Japan's YOUNG GUITAR Magazine's blues feature, where they introduced, "over 50 blues guitarists, from the original blues men, essential rock legends to the now hot young players."
• Containment Blues (2020) debuts at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart.
• Featured in Guitar World Magazine's '30 Best Blues Guitarists In The World Today' poll.
• Peace, Love & Loud Guitars (2018) hits #1 on iTunes Blues Chart and Amazon's New Release Blues Chart.
• Peace, Love & Loud Guitars named #1 Album of 2018 by Blues Rock Review and Soundguardian Magazine.
• Best Musician/Live Performance Winner at the 2017 European Blues Awards.
• Performed and demoed the first 3D Printed electric guitar for the BASF company (2018).
• Gomes’ song “Love Sweet Love” hits 5 million plays on Spotify. Relix magazine picked the song from over 40,000 submissions in their song competition and included the track on their CD sampler.
• Music Is The Medicine Foundation, a national 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, was founded in 2010 by Anthony to positively impact the lives of others through the healing power of music. Since its inception, MITM has directly helped children with cancer, young adults with Autism and war veterans with PTSD. It has funded songwriting scholarships, offered musical education programs and donated musical instruments. In addition to private donations, MITM has been awarded grants from State Farm Insurance and CVS Pharmacy.
• Gomes is an award winning blues history scholar, earning the University of Toronto’s C.P. Stacey Award for the highest overall academic grade point average by a history major. Anthony completed his master’s degree thesis on the racial and cultural evolution of blues music, graduating from Canada’s top university with high distinction.
• Anthony’s book, “The Black and White of Blues,” was nominated for “Best Book of 2014” by Blues 411.
• Gomes has performed in 17 countries and has opened for B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Robert Plant, Joe Bonamassa, Heart, Jonny Lang, Sammy Hagar, 38 Special, Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Gretchen Wilson.
• Eric Clapton, Morgan Freeman, John Goodman, Toby Keith, Jonny Lang, Ron White, Tim Robbins, Travis Tritt and Vince Vaughn have attended Gomes’ concerts.
QUOTATIONS
“Hendrix on crank guitar phrasing... all the soul of Otis Redding and the swagger of Steven Tyler. Anthony joyfully blends the distinction between blues and rock.”
- Blues Rock Review
“Equal parts down home blues and hard rock.”
- Vintage Guitar
"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
“A very talented guitarist... and where did that voice come from?”
- B.B. King
"Gomes takes modern blues way beyond the established points and sets the new high water mark for the genre. Gomes’ blues rock hits the heights and delights. Killer stuff."
- Midwest Record
“The present and future blues rock king.”
- Sonic Nation
“Gomes’ authentic voice and the formidable guitar chops place him in the forefront of modern blues.”
- Blues Music Magazine
“Anthony Gomes is a serious mojo mofo.”
- City Weekly
FOUNDATION
MUSIC IS THE MEDICINE
Music Is The Medicine Foundation, a national 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, was founded in 2010 by Anthony Gomes to positively impact the lives of others through the healing power of music.
Since its inception, MITM has directly helped children with cancer, young adults with Autism and war veterans with PTSD. It has funded songwriting scholarships, offered musical education programs and donated musical instruments.
In addition to private donations, MITM has been awarded grants from State Farm Insurance and CVS Pharmacy as well as partnering with Apple, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Once Upon A String and Six String Heroes. Today, MITM's social media reach spans 46 countries and 26 languages.