Chris Luquette is a flatpicker from Seattle who spent 11 years as the guitarist in Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen. With that band he won two IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year awards and shared two Grammy nominations. He won an IBMA Momentum Award for instrumentalist in 2013. Since 2017 he has lived in Brooklyn, where he leads his own projects and teaches.
Why Luquette matters
Luquette shows what a bluegrass guitarist can do when the band plays hard and fast and still leaves room for ideas. In Dirty Kitchen he stood next to Mike Munford, the 2013 IBMA Banjo Player of the Year, and held his own on every break. He brings rock and jazz listening into a bluegrass right hand without losing the drive.
Life and career
Luquette grew up in Seattle, Washington. He started guitar at age 10 after hearing classic rock on his father’s radio. His first lessons were on a nylon string guitar. Around age 15 he heard Bill Monroe through the Grateful Dead’s family tree, and bluegrass took over.
In Seattle he was a founding member of the bluegrass band Northern Departure. He joined Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen around 2012. The band toured four continents and played the Grand Ole Opry twice while he was in it. He appears on Cold Spell (2014) and If You Can’t Stand the Heat (2019), both on Compass Records, and both nominated for the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. He co-wrote Crave, the opening track on the second record, with Solivan.
Luquette moved to Brooklyn in 2017. There he plays in the house band at Mona’s Monday night bluegrass session. He released his first solo album, The Way I View the World, in late 2019. In 2022 he released City Suite for Two Guitars, a 16-track instrumental set of duets with guitarists including Grant Gordy, Michael Daves, and Ross Martin, with Alex Hargreaves among the guests. He left Dirty Kitchen at the end of March 2023 to teach and perform in Spain and Portugal and to focus on his New York projects.
Playing style
Luquette plays with a rock player’s attack and a bluegrass player’s timing. He hits the strings hard and keeps the notes clean at tempo. His breaks mix Norman Blake style melody with runs that come from jazz and Allman Brothers records. He also plays honky-tonk electric guitar.
He plays a signature model Preston Thompson dreadnought. The one he played in 2015 had Brazilian rosewood back and sides, a red spruce top, and a sunburst finish. He uses Blue Chip picks and Elixir strings. He also plays mandolin, banjo, bass, and drums.
Influences and legacy
Luquette names Norman Blake, Tony Rice, Kenny Baker, and Sam Bush among his bluegrass influences. Outside bluegrass he points to Duane Allman, John McLaughlin, Neil Young, and the Beatles. In Dirty Kitchen he played beside Mike Munford, Frank Solivan, and bassist Jeremy Middleton. He has also worked with Jerry Douglas, Emmylou Harris, and Rob Ickes. Steve Martin called him one of the best guitar players he has ever heard.
As a teacher, Luquette has given private lessons for close to 15 years. He has taught at DelFest Academy, RockyGrass Academy, Augusta Heritage Bluegrass Week, and camps in France, Spain, and Portugal.
Signature tunes and songs
Crave Widow’s Creek South Mountain Rag Red Haired Boy.
Essential recordings
Cold Spell, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen (Compass, 2014) If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen (Compass, 2019) The Way I View the World (2019) City Suite for Two Guitars (2022)
Awards and honors
IBMA Momentum Award, Instrumentalist of the Year (2013) IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year, Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen (2014, 2016) Grammy nomination, Best Bluegrass Album, Cold Spell Grammy nomination, Best Bluegrass Album, If You Can’t Stand the Heat
Watch and listen
Luquette plays Norman Blake’s Widow’s Creek solo at the Fretboard Journal office in 2015. Watch how he keeps the melody on top while the bass line moves.
What to learn from Luquette
Learn Red Haired Boy from his Peghead Nation performance. It is a jam standard in A, and his version stays close to the tune while adding his own turnarounds. The technique to steal is his attack. He drives the pick through every note, downstroke and upstroke, and lets the guitar ring. Practice a scale with a heavy pick and a loose wrist until the loud notes stay clean. Then bring that attack into your breaks.
Sources
Biography, Chris Luquette Chris Luquette, IBMA award recipients Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, IBMA award recipients Chris Luquette departing Dirty Kitchen, Bluegrass Today Chris Luquette, Common Ground on the Hill Chris Luquette, Preston Thompson Guitars Interview with Chris Luquette, Lesson Pros Chris Luquette, Widow’s Creek, Fretboard Journal Chris Luquette, Red Haired Boy, Peghead Nation City Suite for Two Guitars, Bandcamp If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Compass Records Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen turn up the temperature, Listening Through the Lens Frank Solivan, Wikipedia
Related players
See the guitar players hub and the guitar guide for more flatpickers. Luquette draws on Norman Blake and Tony Rice. He recorded guitar duets with Grant Gordy. For another player who mixes rock listening into bluegrass guitar, see Trey Hensley.