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Musical trends may come and go, but rock-solid musicianship never goes out of fashion. The current crop of pop, rock and R&B superstars are a multi-talented bunch who use a variety of instruments to build music that’s both timeless and TikTok-ready. Here’s a guide to seven era-defining musicians and the instruments they couldn’t – and really wouldn’t want to – do it without.
Beabadoobee hones her sound on her Guild M-20 guitar
The indie queen – real name Beatrice Laus – first picked up this steel stringed acoustic guitar when she was 17. “I didn’t know the technicalities, but what I found charming about it was that you could play anything and it sounded just how I thought an acoustic guitar should sound in my head,” she recalled. It soon became the bedrock of Beabadoobee‘s songwriting process and something of a secret weapon; ‘Coffee’, a song she wrote on her Guild M-20, went viral in 2017 and landed her a deal with British indie label Dirty Hit Records.
The 1975’s George Daniel relies on his Roland TR-8S drum machine
George Daniel doesn’t just play drums in The 1975; he’s also responsible for much of their programming and co-produces their records. You can check out his production skills, too, on ‘Apple’ and ‘Club Classics’ from Charli XCX‘s ‘Brat‘ album. When the band heads out on tour, Daniel says the Roland TR-8S drum machine is “amazing because you can put samples on the SD card and sequence whatever sounds you want”. And handily, it fits in a suitcase.
Lizzo and her silver flute are inseparable
As well as being the world’s foremost “bad bitch”, Lizzo is a classically trained flautist who mastered the instrument while studying classical music at the University of Houston. Lizzo’s signature woodwind – Sasha Flute – is so iconic that it has its own Instagram account with 323,000 followers. Sasha and the artist’s other favourite flute – Blue Ivy – are both Muramatsu EX models from sterling silver. Well, would you expect a superstar to play anything less?
Olivia Rodrigo’s purple guitar is a tribute to one of her heroes
Olivia Rodrigo co-wrote ‘Obsessed’, a pop-punk nugget from the deluxe edition of her ‘Guts‘ album, with one of the greatest guitarists in the game – Annie Clark aka St. Vincent. So, it was only fitting that when Rodrigo performed the song on her ‘Guts World Tour’, she strapped on a custom purple version of St. Vincent’s Ernie Ball Music Man guitar. This angular axe has got to be one of the coolest-looking instruments around. Don’t believe us? Make sure you’re in the crowd next June when her blockbuster ‘Guts’ world tour returns to the UK at Co-Op Live in Manchester. It’s gonna be very popular, Rodrigo is the UK’s 7th most-searched for artist, according to data from viagogo.
Steve Lacy has his own signature Stratocaster
Gen Z guitar hero Steve Lacy first came to prominence in hip alt-R&B collective The Internet. Then came an equally cool, musically adventurous solo career driven by his emotive, vibey guitar playing. He says he loves his signature People Pleaser Stratocaster for its “history and look” as well as its “versatility”, adding: “You can play rock, you can play R&B, you can play country or funk.” And talking of versatility, in his ‘Sunshine’ music video, Lacy plays his Strat while soaring into the air on a zip wire. Respect.
Paramore drummer Zac Farro’s sleek retro drum kit
Zac Farro’s pummelling drums underpin Paramore‘s punchy pop-punk sound, so it’s no surprise that he’s a stickler when it comes to kit. For the band’s most recent tour, he used a Ludwig Classic Maple drum kit in vintage white marine pearl – a colour chosen because it matches the aesthetic of Paramore’s 2023 album ‘This Is Why‘. The band’s touring percussionist Joey Mullen used to be Farro’s drum tech; together they’ve crafted a rhythm section that singer Hayley Williams can really launch off. It’s great news, then, that an increasing number of people are seeing Paramore in action since their stint supporting Taylor Swift last year – ticket sales for the band grew 31 per cent year-on year, according to data from viagogo.
Lady Gaga loves to bring out a keytar
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta – or Lady Gaga to you and me – is such an accomplished musician that she’s been known to play a piano with her feet. Ever since her first global tour, 2009’s ‘The Fame Ball’, she’s also wielded a Roland AX-Synth keytar to add a dash of theatricality to her handiwork. You can check out her keytar skills during the ‘Just Dance’ segment of her superb 2017 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Truly, no one is doing it like her.