Artist Spotlight - Barrett Anderson
As a teenager Barrett was a member of both Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters, and The Monster Mike Welch Band. Ronnie Earl proudly calls Barrett his musical son, and Barrett recorded 2005’s Adding Insight to Injury with Monster Mike. As a fifteen year old, Barrett got slide guitar pointers from Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin backstage before backing up Pinetop Perkins. Barrett learned country blues from Son House’ disciple, Paul Rishell. Seventeen-year-old Barrett kept Anna Lee company while hanging with Levon Helm on Beale Street. After a gig at Red’s Juke Joint in Mississippi, famously ornery bluesman T-Model Ford declared that Barrett was welcome to play with him whenever he wanted. Chris Spector, of Midwest Record, says “Anderson has the chops and spark to make a real statement his own way. Hot stuff.”
Barrett has recorded 3 full length albums, including 2020’s live album HypnoBoogie, which spent 3 weeks on the Billboard Blues Album Top 15 Chart, peaking at #6. It was also on numerous national/international airplay charts and a number of 2020 “Best of” year-end lists. In 2013 Barrett won a Boston Music Award, Blues Artist of the Year. He currently performs with The Barrett Anderson Band, featuring fellow Quilter artist Paul Loranger on the bass, and with internationally acclaimed Anthony Geraci & The Boston Blues All-Stars, with whom he was nominated for Band of the Year at the 2023 Blues Music Awards, by the Blues Foundation. You can hear Barrett and his TB202 with The Boston Blues All-Stars on the 2024 release Tears in My Eyes, on Blue Heart Records.
"I’ve been lucky to grow up with great amps. Vintage guitars were always out of reach, but when I was starting out original, black-panel Fenders were just old amps, and I was able to assemble a small, cherished collection before they became unobtainium. For decades I’ve wondered what would happen when my dear old amp friends stopped being the best tools I had; at their very best they had limitations – they were big, heavy, temperamental, and loud!
In 2021 I joined Anthony Geraci & The Boston Blues All-Stars, and quickly realized that, given the national/international touring and travel, my once idle concern about old amps had become reality. My vintage tube amps just weren’t practical for me given the planes, trains, and automobiles that suddenly defined my playing experiences.
I needed an amp that was small and lightweight (the smaller the better), powerful (it needed to work in any venue – clubs/theaters/arenas), versatile (I need it to work with global voltages and any/all speakers cabs & impedances), reliable and, most importantly, I needed an amp that sounded great and felt great to play at all volume levels, from a bedroom to the biggest stage. I have found all of that in my Quilter Tone Block 202.
Paul Loranger, bassist, bandmate, and Quilter artist, turned me on to Quilter in 2021 and I haven’t looked back. I love my TB202. It fits in a backpack along with my cables, picks, slides, strings, and guitar accessories, and I’m able to carry everything with me onto the plane as my carry-on. How many 200-watt amps can you stow under the seat in front of you on your flight to the EU!?! When backline is provided I request a 2x12 amp and use it simply as a speaker cabinet, knowing my trusty Quilter will keep me happy. Its warm tone and full reverb are immediately familiar and inspiring. During local gigs I’ll bring along my Block Dock 12CB and I just love the way this cabinet and speaker sing with the Tone Block.
Quilter Labs and their amplifiers simply have me and my needs covered. They make the best tools for me as a working musician, and I am excited to plug my guitar in every time, knowing the great tone that awaits."
