Yasmin Williams

The complex compositions and daringly inventive style of Yasmin Williams is second to none. Not satisfied with traditional fingerstyle methods whilst she was teaching herself guitar, the instrumentalist developed a distinctive way of playing that includes lap tapping — or using the neck as though it were a keyboard — drumming the guitar’s wooden frame and tap dancing for an additional rhythmic layer, and even bowing. The Virginia native released her sophomore record in 2021 to critical acclaim. Williams’s music has been described as rich, harmonious, and “in a lot of ways, the joy and possibility she brings to the guitar reminds me more of Eddie Van Halen than any of the other fingerstyle guitarists to whom she's compared” (NPR Music).