photo: Sean McFadden

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Matteo Mancuso has been a household name among guitar geeks for more than a few years now, and on May 23rd, he and his trio demonstrated why to a packed house and broader audience at Ardmore Music Hall. This show was the third in the Italian guitarist’s first headlining North American tour, and it’s clear that he and his bandmates, electric bassist Riccardo Oliva and drummer Gianluca Pellerito, are having a blast playing for American crowds. And if the Ardmore show is any indication, il sentimento è reciproco.

Since as early as 2017, Mancuso has been blowing minds and melting faces with YouTube videos showcasing his singular combination of virtuosic technique, tasteful articulation, and perfectly dialed-in guitar tone. (He’s known for his distinctive right hand technique, shredding with his fingers instead of a pick, which is uncommon among lead guitarists.) Mancuso has appeared at NAMM shows since 2019 and released his debut LP, The Journey, in 2023. Following a now legendary 2024 appearance on guitar guru Rick Beato’s YouTube show, his audience only continues to grow, in part due to the praise heaped upon him by legendary guitarists the likes of Dweezil Zappa, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Vai, and Al Di Meola.

Opening the night was another rising guitar hero, Philadelphia’s Vahe Sarkissian. Donning a Telecaster, Sarkissian led his trio, augmented by local oud player Roger Mgrdichian, through a set that included original interpretations of Armenian folk music. (In 2022, Sarkissian released an album of these arrangements, Carcuna, treating them the way an early bebopper might have built on pop tunes that with time would become jazz standards.) Reminiscent of a jazz show in a small club, Sarkissian engaged directly with the crowd between tunes. He presented a solo guitar arrangement of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” an arrangement he said he workshops every few years, and the group treated the crowd to a spot-on cover of Pat Metheny’s modern jazz standard, “Bright Size Life.” (This wouldn’t be the only appearance of basslines written or inspired by Philly’s own Jaco Pastorius, who played on Metheny’s album of the same name.) Clearly a devotee of Stanley Jordan, Sarkissian presented a full-band version of “Eleanor Rigby,” propelled by the two-hand tapping technique that Jordan popularized decades earlier.

Sarkissian shared that he was honored, if intimidated, to open for Mancuso, and he did so admirably: the crowd was more than warmed up by the time Mancuso and his trio took the stage. To Mancuso, technique and feel are two sides of the same coin. This was evident from the first note as his trio opened their set with “Silkroad,” the first track from The Journey. They eased the tune into a multiterrain jam, with Mancuso and bassist Oliva trading stank faces as Mancuso’s right hand made his mind bogglingly fast, Eric Johnson-like cascading runs look easy. His right hand also found its way to his whammy bar, which he used a la Jeff Beck to coax otherworldly sounds from the Strat he used to begin the set. (In a tip of the hat to Beck, Mancuso later led his trio through Beck’s arrangement of the Stevie Wonder-penned “‘Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” an instantly legendary cut from Beck’s Blow by Blow album.)

He put down his Strat in favor of his custom Yamaha Revstar RSP20 and played through more originals from The Journey, including “Open Fields,” dedicated to his homeland of Sicily, and “Samba Party,” which sounded like a Santana penned homage to Paul Simon’s Graceland. They offered their own fusion-y take on Jaco’s “The Chicken,” a fitting tribute to the Philadelphia-born bass legend. (A cover of “The Chicken” also was the first of Mancuso’s YouTube videos to go viral back in 2017.) Oliva wore his influences on his sleeve, channeling everyone from Jaco to Les Claypool during many of his bass solos, while Pellerito’s drumming challenged both the crowd and his bandmates to keep time. At times, the three sounded like a straight ahead jazz band, making each other laugh by quoting tunes like “Jingle Bells;” then they suddenly became a metal band, with Mancuso somehow coaxing pinch harmonics out of his instrument, despite not using a pick.

It’s hard to believe that a guitarist as accomplished as Mancuso is just 28 years of age. He and his trio left the audience wanting more, heading immediately to the merch table to meet the legions of fans who came out for the guitarist’s Philadelphia debut, which was more than just a concert: it was an announcement of a major talent fully arrived. For those who appreciate jaw-dropping technical skill seamlessly blended with genuine musicality and a palpable joy for performance, Matteo Mancuso is an essential live experience. As he continues to tour and evolve, one thing is certain: the journey of Matteo Mancuso is one that music fans worldwide will be eager to follow, note by electrifying note.