DUKE LEVINE

What makes a great professional guitarist? Excellent chops, world experience, all-round versatility, eclectic taste in music, superb tones and the ability to blend seamlessly into a new band - all talents of Duke Levine, who recently took over guitar duties in Bonnie Raitt's band of premier musicians

- Bob Hewitt

Bonnie Raitt has been a constant presence on the international music scene for over 50 years, collaborating with many – from Sippie Wallace to Mavis Staples, John Lee Hooker to John Prine – and boasts a long list of best-selling albums, with 13 Grammy Awards from 30 nominations to her name, as well as the honour of receiving the Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2022. Not bad for someone who was discounted earlier this year as “an unknown blues singer” by a certain UK tabloid…

Her own core band has been by her side for over 30 years, including guitarist and sometimes co-writer George Marinelli, Ricky Fataar on drums and James ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson on bass, while keyboard player Glenn Patscha joined the band a few years back in 2018. When George Marinelli decided to take a break from touring, Boston-based guitarist Duke Levine stepped up seamlessly into the role.

Getting His Groove 

Having grown up in a house full of musical siblings during the 60s, Duke’s history with the guitar is a long one. “I have three older brothers and a sister, so I benefited from their record collections,” he tells us over the phone from a tour in Hawaii, “and a lot of it was good stuff: The Beatles, Stones, The Band, Paul Butterfield – but also Merle Haggard and Doc Watson. [My older brothers] all played guitars, so they showed my sister and I some chords to get us going – and at the same time my brother Rick had a country rock band that rehearsed at our house most every day, so that was pretty cool to experience.”