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When the pandemic hit in early 2020, stages around the world fell eerily quiet. Tour buses sat idle, guitar cases remained shut, and the familiar ritual of sound check to standing ovation came to an abrupt halt. For professional guitarists, people who had built their entire lives and identities around the energy exchange of live performance, this silence was deafening. But as the initial shock wore off, something remarkable happened: these master musicians, accustomed to adapting on the fly, began to find new rhythms in the strange quiet.
The Creative Drought and Awakening
Not everyone felt an immediate burst of pandemic-inspired creativity. In fact, many experienced the opposite. Tom Morello, guitar virtuoso of Rage Against the Machine fame, admitted to putting his guitar down completely for the first four months of lockdown – the first creative drought of his career.
“It was the first creative drought of my life, and it came to a screeching halt in the midst of a plague, and a lockdown, and a crazy political situation,” Morello revealed in an interview with American Songwriter. But necessity sparked innovation. He began recording simple guitar riffs on his phone and sending them to artists around the globe to contribute vocals, lyrics, and mixes.
The result became “The Atlas Underground Fire,” a project Morello described as his “life raft during the pandemic.” What started as a desperate attempt to reconnect with his musical identity evolved into a groundbreaking approach to collaboration, with artists contributing from Palestine, Sweden, Brazil, Jamaica, and beyond.
Home Studios Become Center Stage
As traveling to professional studios became impossible, home recording setups transformed from convenience to necessity. Guthrie Trapp, a Nashville-based studio and touring musician, noted that everyone at every level of the industry felt the shift. Those who had already established online presences had an advantage, but many had to learn new technical skills overnight.
For some bands, like Band of Heathens, the transition to private virtual concerts offered unexpected intimacy. “What we lack in rock ‘n’ roll energy, we make up for in intimacy and humor,” frontman Gordy Quist explained about their Zoom performances. These digital gatherings created connections that would have been impossible in traditional venues.
Others struggled with the technical aspects. Without access to engineers, artists had to become self-sufficient in recording, mixing, and streaming – skills many had previously left to professionals. Bedroom corners transformed into makeshift isolation booths, closets became vocal chambers, and dining rooms turned into control centers.
The Personal Side: Identity in Crisis
Beyond the practical challenges lay deeper questions of identity. Joe Bonamassa, despite being surrounded by his legendary guitar collection during lockdown, confessed he “had no desire to play” his instruments. “It was like okay, what are you? Am I a guitar player? No. Am I a singer? No. Songwriter? No. I’m an entertainer,” he reflected, realizing his core identity was tied to performing for live audiences.
The psychological weight of this identity crisis affected musicians in different ways. C.L. Behrens, a bass trombonist who had spent 22 years playing his instrument, voiced what many felt: “Without this, what am I? Who am I if I’m not performing on a stage?”
For others, the pandemic offered a chance to reconnect with their instrument on more personal terms. Jason Isbell found that the forced confinement actually helped strengthen his relationship with both his family and his music, arranging his days around two priorities: spending time with his daughter Mercy and playing guitar.
New Skills and Directions
Adaptation meant developing entirely new skills and exploring unexpected avenues. Many guitarists who had occasionally taught lessons found teaching online became a significant revenue stream. Others discovered they had talents for content creation, producing gear demos, streaming performances, or building social media followings.
Some artists used the time to launch charitable efforts. Joe Bonamassa established his “Fueling Musicians Program” through his non-profit Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, raising over $320,000 to support touring musicians impacted by the pandemic.
For Jason Isbell, the pause in touring created space for a completely different creative pursuit: acting. When his tour dates were canceled in 2020, he began exploring film roles and ended up landing a part in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” acting alongside Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Road Ahead
As stages gradually reopened, guitarists carried forward the lessons learned during those silent months. Many continued the collaborative long-distance relationships formed during lockdown. Recording techniques adapted for pandemic necessity became preferred methods for some. Virtual teaching and performance platforms that seemed temporary became permanent fixtures.
But perhaps the most significant change was a renewed appreciation for what can’t be replicated digitally: the irreplaceable magic of musician and audience sharing the same physical space. As Guthrie Trapp put it simply when looking ahead to returning to stages: “I can’t wait to play live again. We are a rock ‘n’ roll band, and touring is the centerpiece of what we do.”
The pandemic may have silenced stages temporarily, but it amplified something else – the remarkable resilience of musicians who, when faced with unprecedented challenges, found new ways to keep their creative spirits alive.
