An Italian virtuoso acoustic guitarist will perform his mesmerizing show next week during his first visit to the Holland Theatre, sure to impress audience members as he shares classic rock covers from AC/DC, current pop and contemporary favorites and his mind-bending originals.
Luca Stricagnoli, who invented instruments like the Reversed Triple Necked Guitar and the Reversed Slide Neck and also plays up to five guitars at once, is excited to share his energetic show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the theater.
“I’m looking forward to coming to Bellefontaine,” he said this week. “I like to have fun with the audience and add in some comedy, too. My show is very interactive in between sets and I enjoy sharing all of the intricacies of the guitar and how it does certain things, kind of like a guitar workshop.”
Now 33 years old, the Italian-born musician began dreaming big dreams at the age of 19 or 20, after being mesmerized by fingerstyle guitar playing on YouTube.
The classically-trained guitarist began playing the instrument at age 10 and as a teen, studied at the prestigious Conservatory in Italy. In his later teen years, he took a short break from the guitar and thought about moving into a career away from music. However, watching the fingerstyle method sparked a new energy in him that he began pouring back into his musical studies.
“I began to imagine pursuing a career in fingerstyle, and my teacher at the Conservatory encouraged me to do just that. I knew I would love to travel the world and play concerts,” Stricagnoli said.
Just a few years later in 2014, his arrangement “The Last of the Mohicans” was picked up by Candyrat Records, and soon the streaming views reached into the millions. He was then asked to release his debut album, and the lead single, “Thunderstruck” went viral with 14 million views within just a few weeks.
He began to realize his dreams, as he was invited on tour with Derrin Naudendorf in 2014. Then in 2015 and ever since, he has been touring as a solo artist, traveling to all corners of the globe, and now has performed in more than 30 countries.
“I’d never been out of Italy before that,” he said. “After ‘Thunderstruck’ went viral, I began to get concert requests outside of the country, including in the U.S.
“The states have been so good to me and that’s where a lot of my audience was when I first got started.”
Now Stricagnoli, who moved to Nashville about 1 ½ years ago, also has been to China, Russia, Canada and many other locales, and has Korea and Japan on his concert itinerary next year.
“It has been a whirlwind; I’ve been on the road about 220 days during the last year,” he said, remarking that thankfully, his wife, award-winning singer-songwriter Meg Pfeiffer, gets to join him on tour and onstage at times when she’s not busy with her own projects.
Pfeiffer also is instrumental in creating Stricagnoli’s music videos that have garnered so much attention on YouTube and social media, exceeding 200 million views online.
Stricagnoli’s guitar maker David Serrachi also brings the musician’s unique instrument visions to life and the pair are able to collaborate to design the specialty guitars.
Now about a decade after gaining traction on YouTube and online platforms, Stricagnoli has released four albums and plays around 100 shows a year, from small concerts to massive shows at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv; to private events for clients like Formula 1 and Hard Rock Hotel and sold-out concerts in performing arts centers, philharmonics and theaters, according to his website, https://www.lucastricagnoli.com/.
“I’m so grateful for this opportunity to realize my dreams and to share my love of the guitar and creating music with people around the world,” he said.