Alastair Greene

Emerging among the wave of blues-rock guitarists inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Alastair Greene sets himself apart through his powerful guitar sound and expansive rhythmic feel, which he also brings to his powerful vocals. His first release, A Little Wiser, arrived in 2001 and outlined the scale of his blues-rock approach, launching a trajectory that combined consistent road work and periodic studio output—every few years from Walking in Circles in 2009 through Alive in the New World in 2023—while opening doors to outside projects. Although he thrived as a supporting player alongside classic-rock figures such as Starship featuring Mickey Thomas and Alan Parsons, Greene concentrated on the blues, recording with Walter Trout and Sugaray Rayford and appearing on Ruf’s 2024 Blues Caravan with Katarina Pejak and Eric Johanson.

Born April 18, 1971, in Santa Barbara, California, Greene is the grandson of trumpeter Alfred “Chico” Alvarez, a longtime member of Stan Kenton’s pioneering postwar big band. He first tried piano and saxophone before turning to guitar during his teenage years, drawn especially to the classic blues and blues-rock of the 1960s—from the Allman Brothers Band, Buddy Guy, and B.B. King to Stevie Ray Vaughan, who fused those influences. Music filled his youth: he performed in his high-school jazz ensemble and fronted his own rock group in the evenings. After a year at Santa Barbara City College he entered Berklee College of Music, yet the lure of touring led him to depart after two years and start his own band.

Throughout the 1990s the Alastair Greene Band built a following large enough to support the 2001 release of A Little Wiser. Official Bootleg: Live in L.A. appeared in 2003, after which Greene crossed paths with Alan Parsons; the art-rock musician featured him on the 2004 album A Valid Path and brought him along for a 2009 U.S. tour, eventually making him a regular member of Parsons’ group. Occasional side work included dates with Starship featuring Mickey Thomas.

Greene never fully set aside his own recordings—Walking in Circles in 2009, Through the Rain in 2011, and Trouble at Your Door in 2014—but Parsons took precedence through the 2010s. Dream Train, issued in 2017, marked a renewed emphasis on his solo work; both that album and its 2018 follow-up, Live from the 805, earned strong notices and restored his visibility in blues circles, leading to a 2019 guitar slot with Sugaray Rayford. That same year Greene joined Whiskey Bayou Records, the label founded by Tab Benoit, trimmed his lineup to a power trio, and delivered The New World Blues in 2020. Alive in the New World followed in 2023. In 2024 he joined Ruf’s Blues Caravan with Eric Johanson and Katarina Pejak.