Top Up-and-Coming Female Guitarists
Published on 05 March 2025
For this year’s International Women’s Day us girls working at guitarguitar wanted to celebrate by giving a shout to some amazing female guitarists! However, instead of talking about the phenomenal trailblazers of the 6-strings that are already well established & adored by the masses, I decided to shine a light on the new generation of up-and-coming female guitar players.
And I am happy to say that guitar-slaying girls are back! Yes, we are so back. Not just on social media but on stages of local clubs, festivals, studios and international tour buses. Let us dive into the fresh-faced and rocking female guitarists to keep on your radar in 2025!
photo: Blue Kid Media
If you’re new to this topic, I would highly recommend for you to check out my previous blog. I covered the 9 Female Guitarists and Their Signature Guitars including the top of the game female guitarists such as Nita Strauss, Sophie Lloyd, Lzzy Hale, Orianthi and more!
*cover photo by Alan Swan Media
Contents:
12. Anna Cara (Crossbone Skully)
11. Carmen Vanderberg (Bones UK)
9. Andrea Ferrero (Chappell Roan)
8. Devon Eisenbarger (Katy Perry / Chappell Roan)
7. Helen Kotina (Nervosa Thrash)
5. Jayden J Hammer (DeathbyRomy)
4. Courtney Cox (Burning Witches)
3. Constance Antoinette (Demi Lovato, Til Lindeman)
13. Erica Fox (various acts)
Pop-punk rocker in a pop world, Erica Fox has been recognized as one of the top female guitarists in Canada in recent years.
Aside from her solo project Favvkes, Erica stepped in as a session guitarist for artists such as Devon Cole, Queen Priyanka, Fefe Dobson and Goldie Boutilier which opened the door to international touring for this young Torontonian musician.
Erica Fox’s impeccable guitar skills and professionalism garnered her endorsements from industry giants such as PRS Guitars and D'Addario and also swears by Quad Cortex as her go-to touring rig. Follow Erica’s Instagram and watch her become the next Jennifer Battern!
12. Anna Cara (Crossbone Skully)
Anna Cara has stolen the hearts of guitarists world-wide with her superb YouTube covers of classic rock and metal hits. Her incredible guitar skills landed her a spot in a Hollywood based multi-media rock & roll ensemble, Crossbone Skully. Frequently performing at the legendary Viper Room put Anna in the spotlight of her fellow shredding female guitarists, Nita Strauss and Orianthi, who both came out to see her on stage! That's the kind of girls supporting each other kinda vibe I'm talking about! Anna Cara is only just warming up - a guitar hero in the making.
11. Carmen Vanderberg (Bones UK)
Carmen Vanderberg is a blues rock guitar slinger hailing from London.
In 2014 Carmen started her own band Bones UK with a friend, singer Rosie Bones. Their unique blend of bluesy licks with rock & roll quickly gained them the attention of some of the biggest names in guitar industry, landing the group an opening slot for The Who and Jeff Beck. In an interview with The Guitar World, Carmen said “the Tele is my baby, [it’s] a 1963. She travels with me everywhere.” Vanerberg is endorsed by Fender, Blackstar, Earthquaker Devices and Ernie Ball to name a few. Phew!
An interesting trivia about the track Girls Can’t Play Guitar - it was inspired by a real incident at one of the early Bones UK shows. Needless to say that the person who tried to put Carmen down that day is not rocking out on world stages or having their songs nominated for a Grammy. Or being featured on the cover of Total Guitar magazine. Life is a funny thing.
10. Amy Love (Nova Twins)
Bringing a mix of grime and punk onto the Glastonbury in 2023 was the ultimate cool act by a girl duo, Nova Twins. Amy Love is the charismatic guitarist you may want to check out asap. Speaking up for the POC community and slaying guitar riffs in front of R&B and hip-hop-obsessed peers, Amy Love’s already making her mark in the history of rock and roll. In 2019 Nova Twins supported Prophets of Rage (Tom Morello’s rap metal supergroup).
Fender featured the band in their Player Plus Sessions episode. Watch these girls rock their way to the top!
9. Andrea Ferrero (Chappell Roan)
A Venezuelan native, Andrea Ferrero graduated from the famous Berklee College and relocated to Los Angeles to grow her career as a guitarist. Her talent and dedication to the instrument landed her various roles in musical projects such as working with Adam Sandler’s film company “Happy Madison Productions.” She has since played guitar for an impressive roster of artists: Benee, Noel Schajris, Benson Boone and Chappell Roan! Where do you go from here? Solo career, of course. We need to hear more from and about this guitar shero!
8. Devon Eisenbarger (Katy Perry / Chappell Roan)
A guitar player for Katy Perry and Chappell Roan is of course, a badass rock chick. Devon Eisebarger is probably one of the most underrated session guitarists that somehow I haven’t heard about until I dug deep. Why, I ask? Devon should be brought to the front of every guitar-centred magazine, newsboard and discussion. Devon Eisenbarger loves her Fender American Pro II HSS Strat and uses both Fractac and Kemper as her go-to touring rig. To me Devon seems to be a fully fledged guitar goddess but she deserves much more attention for the stupendous guitar contribution!
7. Helen Kotina (Nervosa Thrash)
A young shredder from Greece, Helena Kotina is one hell of a guitar-player to watch out for in 2025. Endorsed by Schecter and Blackstar amplification, in 2022 Kotina played alongside Gus G. and shortly after joined a popular all-girl thrash/metal group Nervosa.
6. Alexandra Lioness (Jenner)
Alexandra Lioness is a self-taught guitar player from Belgrade, Serbia. She is the founder, guitar player and vocalist of the heavy/thrash metal band JENNER. Alexandra Lioness has worked as a session (live and studio) guitar player with a plethora of artists and bands, including Nemesis, Superhammer, and Hellcats to name a few. She is fond of Superstrats and can be mostly seen shredding the living hell of Ibanez, Jackson or recently Harley Benton.
5. Jayden J Hammer (DeathbyRomy)
PRS endorsed shredder Jayden J Hammer is a force to be reckoned with. She rose to fame through her role in a heavy rock act Zipperhammer and her energetic TikTok performances. Jayden is inseparable from her PRS S2 McCarty which she tests to the limits: watch her roll around on stage whilst playing soaring solos! Now a permanent lead guitarist for a genre defying Californian act DeathbyRomy, Jayden J Hammer is unapologetically amazing on her guitar duties.
In an interview with FemMetal, Jayden shared the same old problem us girls unfortunately still have to face in 2025: “The only negative comments I get are always from dudes who are saying I’m not really playing or I’m not that good.[...] I’ll see those comments and I’ll want to respond so badly but at the end of the day, you’re the one who’s getting the attention.” But Jayden didn’t let that get to her and kept going and growing.
Be like Jayden, be fierce and confident in your own guitar-playing dream.. And it will come true.
4. Courtney Cox (Burning Witches)
Shredder extraordinaire for an all-female Swiss heavy metal band Burning Witches, Courtney Cox has quite an impressive career under her belt already.
From 2008 until 2023, Cox played guitar in the famous all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens, along with some of the best guitarists in the game including Nita Strauss and Nikki Stringfield. All three are the first female artists to have their own signature guitars released by their endorsed brands (Courtney Cox - Caparison). Since her departure from The Iron Maidens, Courtney Cox jumped on the lead guitar for heavy metal band Burning Witches.
3. Constance Antoinette (Demi Lovato, Til Lindeman)
Guitar is her main instrument but Constance Antoinette is a multi-instrumentalist (piano, violin) and a woman of many talents, including acting, dancing and modeling.
She’s currently the lead guitarist for megastar Demi Lovato and also plays keyboards for Till Lindemann of Rammstein! I’ve found Constance Antoinette extremely inspiring since I discovered her while watching one of Demi Lovato’s live shows on YouTube. Constance Antoinette has the ultimate rockstar guitarist vibe about her and uses her position to advocate for women in the music industry. As a rock/metal guitarist, Constance is very fond of jumbo frets and Seymour Duncan pickups. She is endorsed by Jackson guitars and her favourite is the Jeff Loomis model.
I hope Constance’s ever evolving guitar journey will serve you as a source of inspiration as to me she is the perfect candidate for leaving an enduring legacy for generations of female musicians to come.
photo source: @offwithhershredz
2. Sophie Burrell (Bxrrell)
One of the finest guitar players to emerge from the social media scene in the UK, Sophie Burrell has built an insane global guitar community around her exceptional guitar playing skills. In recent years, Sophie has amassed over 120 million views on her YouTube channel, launched an educational guitar course and gained endorsements from industry giants such as PRS, D’Addario, EVH and BOSS. In 2023 Sophie founded her own band Bxrrell and also became a guitarist within a US-based supergroup Skylimit. Aside from her outstanding contributions to the online guitar community, Sophie Burrell has also recently performed with Mark Tremonti and it’s fair to say she serves as a role model for thousands of young girls showing that they can master the guitar just as well as boys.
I am secretly cheering for Sophie to have her signature PRS model already!
1. Grace Bowers (solo)
Grace Bowers is just 18 years old and I dare say a musical prodigy. This California native moved to Nashville in pursuit of her musical career. Grace got endorsed by Gibson when she was just 14! She has her very unique style in blues, she’s got the feel and she’s got a very sharp attitude that one needs to tear through the challenges the music industry throws at young and (especially) female guitarists.
Grace Bowers released her debut album called Wine On Venus in 2024 with her band Hodge Podge. Aside from constantly gigging her beloved 1961 cherry red Gibson SG, Grace Bowers has recently had a career defying moment - she got invited to play the Grammys at the invitation of Chris Martin of Coldplay. If she’s on the A-listers radar, she should be on yours, too.
Familiarise yourself with Grace Bowers today for she is the female blues legend we’ve all been waiting for!
Final Thoughts
Girls in music: the more we give each other a shout, support and follow, the more we encourage the new generation to follow in our steps. Let’s support each other especially in the guitar industry and inspire one another to reach for the stars. If you enjoyed my list (which could easily have many more names on it by the way!) then give those up-and-coming female guitarists a follow on their social media, visit their websites and get a ticket to a show if they play in your town.
I hope this list of trending female rock guitarists has inspired you to consider becoming a rockin’ guitar gal yourself!
photo by Alan Swan Media
