Gor Mkhitarian

Gor Mkhitarian, the Armenian guitarist and vocalist, acquired his first instrument upon reaching the age of 15 yet waited until turning 21 before committing to serious study. Born in Vanazor during 1973, he absorbed equal doses of Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel alongside homegrown figures such as Rouben Hakhverdian and Harout Bezjian, forging a style anchored in American pop and rock of the sixties and seventies while threaded with Eastern European folk lines. He tested these impulses across several mid-1990s ensembles, among them Lavi Eli, Snack, and Force major. Drawn to the somber grace of traditional Armenian music, he shaped his debut solo outing as a folk project, issuing the award-winning Yeraz in 2001. Its lean arrangement of two acoustic guitars, percussion, and banjo, joined by lyrics of depth and purpose, built support inside growing Armenian communities worldwide. The 2004 follow-up Godfather Tom delivered another strong set of intense folk-rock, this time with a full band driven by Mkhitarian’s detailed guitar lines and inviting vocals.