Taj Farrant: new album, tour for teen blues star
Australian guitar monster gains international attention
With his blazing guitar album gaining international attention, 15-year-old blues prodigy Taj Farrant is coming into his own.
Farrant is currently on a U.S. tour to promote his 2024 album “Chapter One.” Recent appearances included Lollapalooza in Chicago and the Meteor Guitar Gallery in Bentonville. The Meteor has been one of the young artist’s early supporters, and that’s where I shot these cell-phone pictures in late 2024.
Taj Farrant has been performing since he was nine years old and barely able to lift a Stratocaster. He was something of a novelty act until recently. Now he has matured into a wispy young man in dreadlocks and a floppy hat. His busy, warp-speed soloing is reminiscent of earlier teen blues sensations like Jonny Lang and Joe Bonamassa, both of whom mellowed somewhat with age.
Farrant’s “Chapter One” album and some of its singles have reached top positions on streaming services and the U.S. and Australian blues charts. The well-produced album delivers all the raw testosterone listeners expect from a teen player.
Several hard-rocking originals like “2x2” and “House Always Wins” are mixed in with a couple of jazzy and ballad-style songs. An obligatory cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Tightrope” features high-wire solos.
Bonamassa has said that rising blues guitarists face a choice of paths. The difference between being a high-earning headliner or a perennial sideman can be the ability to deliver a convincing vocal performance in front of an audience. That requires dedication and practice for young performers like Farrant who sings on all the album’s songs.
The album is good, but Farrant’s live show is badass. Playing in bare feet and wearing baggy surfer clothes, he shreds at warp speed. Farrant displays the tech savvy of Gen Alpha in torturing his guitars and effects boxes for his original songs as well as new interpretations of Hendrix and Prince standards He’s often backed by a rowdy trio of hired guns from Missouri.