California singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham earned her first Grammy nomination in 2019, when she was just 23. A few years later, at 26, she won the Grammy for Best Folk Album, for her 2022 record, Revealer. Last year, she released her latest collection, Ace, her third with the storied label Verve Forecast.
Back in March, PG’s John Bohlinger met up with Cunningham for this new Rig Rundown at Third Man Records in Nashville, ahead of her show in the label’s Blue Room. Check it out!
This Martin classical-style is Cunningham’s primary guitar. She uses a unique tuning (B–F#–C#–E–G#–B) that creates what she describes as a suspended-chord sound. Cunningham hasn’t changed a thing on this one—not even the strings.
Rubber Match
Cunningham’s friend and longtime collaborator Tyler Chester lent her this Silvertone acoustic, which had been fixed up with a rubber bridge and pickup by Reuben Cox of Old Style Guitar Shop in Los Angeles. After some time, Chester insisted that Cunningham keep it; he figured the guitar wanted her now. It’s strung up with flatwounds.
New Novo
This Novo Serus, tuned to drop C, is brand new to Cunningham, who digs its similar-but-different take on the Jazzmaster design.
Grab and Go
This Fender Princeton combo is Cunningham’s go-to for both studio and stage purposes.
Madison Cunningham’s Pedalboard
Cunningham’s board includes an Ernie Ball VPJR Tuner pedal, Boss RC-5 Loop Station, JHS Milkman, JHS 3 Series Fuzz, DigiTech Whammy, Hologram Chroma Console, Cunningham’s signature JHS Artificial Blonde, and Universal Audio Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo and Reverb.
Is this how this song will come together on our columnist’s next record? Only time will tell.”
For as long as I can remember in my career as a musician, I’ve wanted to be an artist. Even though, like most teenage fans of music in the ’90s, I would pore over magazines, seeing the likes of Lee Sklar, Victor Wooten, and Pino Palladino playing on the biggest albums, with the greatest gear, and on the most intense tours, there was always something more that I wanted out of the music and out of the time I was investing in my instrument.
Fast forward to the year 2000, and music as a career is now a reality. I’m living in New York, hustling day and night to meet as many people as possible and put myself in as many different musical situations as I can. The thought of being a recording artist and having something to say was always the thing I admired in my heroes, and it was what I was starting to think about constantly in my early 20s as I practiced and wrote music all day and went to gigs and jam sessions until the early hours of the morning.
What I needed was a method for getting out of practice and writing mode and into recording and releasing mode. In the end, it happened totally by chance. I had struggled for a few years to make a record I was happy with and would be proud to release. In fact, I made four full-length records that, to this day, still sit on various forms of outdated media like tapes and ADATs. They have never seen the light of day and never will. I just couldn’t get to the end of the process, no matter what I tried.
“This ended up being the motivating element I had been missing all along: urgency.”
Then came 2004 and what would become my debut album, Mystery to Me. I started to set time limits for myself, restrictive frameworks for the process, and ultimately a release date for the album without any music being written. I also started to hire musicians and engineers and book studio time. This ended up being the motivating element I had been missing all along: urgency.
There was no way I was going to waste people’s time or burn an expensive studio session because I wasn’t prepared. And with the constraints on the process I had set myself—such as recording the album live in one take with a studio audience because I couldn’t afford multiple days of studio time—it started to focus the mind more than ever before.
I not only booked all the musicians and studio time, but I took a tour that started five days after the session. We rehearsed on Wednesday, tracked on Thursday, listened to the tracks on Friday, mixed the album Saturday, and mastered it on Sunday. On Monday, I got on a plane to Vienna to start a tour, and the CDs of the album showed up in Frankfurt 10 days later, ready to sell on the road.
Setting that urgency helped all the pieces fall into place and gave me no choice but to focus, enjoy the process, and make the most of the resources and personnel around me.
Now, we jump forward all the way to this month—I’m writing this in February of 2026—22 years later, and that process has continued to be my superpower. Yesterday, I booked the first of three shows that will be a series of live trio albums with three different bands we’re recording here in Los Angeles. For our first show I have the legendary Peter Erskine on drums and the incredibly unique voice of Nir Felder on guitar. I literally hung up the phone with Pete, picked up my bass, and started writing the first notes of music for the show. I’m sharing that sketch with you today so you’ll have a chance to look back in a few months and see if this idea made it onto the album as is, whether it got scrapped altogether, or if it perhaps morphed into something else.
The bottom line for me is that I can take this approach with almost anything I do. Having tried to do it the “traditional” way when I first started—with writing, arranging, then booking and recording—I know now that my strength lies in starting at the end and working backwards. And if there is ever any friction along the way, I always try to tell myself about the result rather than stress of the process. Knowing you’re going to have accomplished something—be it a recording, practicing a new lick, writing a song, booking a gig, or just spending more time with your instrument—telling yourself how good the result is going to feel is what gets you to the finish line with the lowest amount of stress.
Marshall and the Sex Pistols celebrate 50 years of punk history with the launch of a limited-edition JCM800 Half Stack. The Model 2203 100-watt head and matching 1960A 4x12 angled cabinet are a tribute to the sound, attitude and cultural impact of one of music’s most disruptive bands.
The iconic Marshall half stack has fueled the Sex Pistols’ uncompromising tone: loud, aggressive and unapologetic. The Never Mind The Bollocks album recorded in 1977 became a cultural lightning rod, capturing the raw power and attitude that would define a generation.
Built in collaboration with the Sex Pistols and their legendary guitarist Steve Jones, this special-edition half stack pays tribute to the amp that helped define punk rock.
Steph Carter, Culture Marketing Director at Marshall, says “working with Steve to reimagine this amp for the band’s 50th anniversary has been a powerful tribute to the sound that changed everything.”
Clad in the anarchic pink and yellow colorway inspired by the cover of Never Mind The Bollocks, the limited-edition JCM800 head and matching 1960A 4x12 angled cabinet make an immediate visual statement. Finished with a custom 50th anniversary badge, this release is as much a collector’s piece as it is a stage-ready weapon.
Delivering 100 watts of unmistakable British valve tone, the Model 2203 head paired with the iconic 1960A cabinet captures the aggression and clarity that defined the band’s sound. Single-channel simplicity, master volume control and a series FX loop ensure it remains as formidable on today’s stages as it was in 1977.
Each unit is built by hand at Marshall’s Bletchley factory in the UK, combining decades of British craftsmanship with a historic artist collaboration. With strictly limited quantities available worldwide – only 81 units will be built – this half stack is a bold homage to Steve Jones’ tone and punk’s most defiant legacy. A fitting tribute to the sound that ignited punk and a new chapter in Marshall’s enduring partnership with the artists who shaped the genre.
Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols adds: “I've been using Marshall for a long time now and the 800 series for me are my workhorse — always reliable, always consistent. I like to keep things simple, as the sayin’ goes. It’s only rock ’n’ roll.”
The collaboration came about via the Sex Pistols’ longtime merch partner Bravado, a division of Universal Music Group and the world’s leading artist merchandise and lifestyle company. “With Never Mind the Bollocks, the Sex Pistols embodied the zeitgeist of punk rock’s sound and aesthetic in a game-changing way,” said Matt Young, President and CEO of Bravado. “This collaboration with the band and Marshall celebrates that moment in a loud and irreverent way.”
The amplifier launches in connection with international Record Store Day on April 18, 2026. To mark the occasion, the Sex Pistols will also release a special vinyl edition of Jubilee. Originally issued in 2002, Jubilee is a singles compilation spanning both the Johnny Rotten and post–Johnny Rotten eras, featuring the band’s most recognizable tracks alongside rarities. For Record Store Day 2026, the album will be pressed exclusively on pink vinyl.
Marshall JCM800 Sex Pistols 50th Anniversary Half Stack key features include:
Limited-edition Sex Pistols design, celebrating 50 years
Built by hand in Marshall’s UK factory
Legendary 2203 Model, all-tube construction
100W output for uncompromising British tone
Single-channel simplicity with master volume
Series FX loop, versatile EQ settings
Matching 1960A 4x12 Angled Cabinet with Celestion G12T-75 speakers
The Sex Pistols 50th Anniversary JCM800 Half Stack will be available in a strictly limited run of just 81 units worldwide. The street price for head and cabinet bundle is $4199 USD (€3549 EUR / £3139.99 GBP). Pink cover/yellow grill units will be available at Marshall.com and select Marshall retailers. Yellow cover/pink grill units will be available only at Sexpistolsofficial.com. For more information visit marshall.com.
Fresh off winning two Grammys and being named artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival, drum legend Nate Smith sits down with host and bandmate Cory Wong to chart his career journey on this new episode of Wong Notes.
Smith details his rise from playing with jazz giants like Dave Holland and Chris Potter's Underground to the viral visibility of the Fearless Flyers. A particularly cool gem that he shares is the fax-era story of how a beat tape led to him receiving a songwriting credit on Michael Jackson's Invincible: “I made my Michael Jackson songwriter deal at Kinko’s, brother!” Smith says.
The conversation turns to the essential, irreplaceable muscle of live performance, the importance of artistic concept over chops, and the need for new leaders to steward the future of jazz. Nate also teases his upcoming trio run with J3PO and Cartoons, and the long-demanded reunion with Cory and Victor Wooten. Tune in to the episode to get all the goods.
Mission of Mercy, the fourth full length album from celebrated guitarist and songwriter Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac) and his band The Dirty Knobs, is due June 12 via Soundly Music/Thirty Tigers. The album features appearances from the B-52s’ Kate Pierson and Morgane Stapleton alongside the Dirty Knobs’ Chris Holt (guitars, keys), Lance Morrison (bass) and Campbell’s fellow Heartbreaker Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion).
Pre-order the album HERE and see below for the complete track list.In celebration of the forthcoming record, the band is debuting the album’s first single, the rocker “I Remember.” “‘I Remember’ is a song written on the piano instead of the guitar,” notes Campbell. “The Dirty Knobs turned my demo into a great rock track that has an ethereal, jam-like quality to it, which I really like. I can see it being a great song to play live.” Listen/share the track HERE.
Mission of Mercy displays Campbell’s full songwriting range, with tracks ranging from the unbridled rock & roll of “I Remember” to the Americana ballad “More Than Gold” and even the Brian Wilson-inspired psychedelia of the title track. Campbell states that “Mission Of Mercy is an action-packed collection of tunes that continue the vibe we established as well as some new directions in the songwriting. It’s full-throttle Knobs from start to finish and we look forward to playing these live this year.”
Campbell is on tour throughout the summer in support of the new record, with upcoming performances including dates with Chris Stapleton. In addition to dates with The Dirty Knobs, Campbell will unveil a selection of hits by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers arranged for orchestra performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at the Atlanta Symphony Hall on September 12. See below for a complete list of shows.
Mission of Mercy follows the Dirty Knobs’ 2024 album Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits—the subject of extensive critical acclaim from NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, Consequence, Salon and more—and once again finds the band collaborating with co-producers George Drakoulias and Martin Pradler.
Last year saw the release of Campbell’s New York Times Best Selling memoir Heartbreaker, which Rolling Stone hailed as “essential…a vividly told new autobiography,” while the Los Angeles Times praised its “tale of endurance and patience rewarded” and No Depression proclaimed it “does what the best music memoirs do: encourage readers to listen once again, or for the first time, to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and to Campbell’s solo works.”
The Dirty Knobs (named after tech slang for a broken amp dial) were founded in 2000 by Campbell as a writing and club-date project outside the Heartbreakers. The group finally got on record with 2020's Wreckless Abandon and 2022's External Combustion. Those LPs, Campbell says, were the Knobs “trying to find our way as a rock & roll band.” “Now it’s down to great songs,” adds Campbell, “the depth in the lyrics and chords.” He recalls something Petty once told him: “Tom said, ‘I love the English language. There’s so much you can do with it.’ I'm discovering that, too. Looking for rhyme schemes, the right word. At first it was a struggle. Now that door has opened,” Campbell says. “I’ve turned a corner.” The Dirty Knobs are “still a rock band but growing into different feels.”
MIKE CAMPBELLL & THE DIRTY KNOBS
MISSION OF MERCY
1. No Regrets 2. Let Me Back In My Dream 3. My Mama Told Me 4. I Remember 5. More Than Gold (feat. Morgane Stapleton) 6. Mission of Mercy 7. Bongo Mania (feat. Kate Pierson) 8. Wrecking Ball 9. Done To Me 10. Armageddon 11. Vicious Hangover 12. Vagrant
MIKE CAMPBELL & THE FIRST KNOBS TOUR DATES
July 7—Minneapolis, MN—Pantages Theatre July 9—Chicago, IL—The Vic Theatre July 11—Northfield, OH—MGM Northfield Park Center Stage July 12—Pontiac, MI—Flagstar Strand Theatre July 15—Nashville, IN—Brown County Music Center July 17—New Buffalo, MI—Four Winds July 18—Pittsburgh, PA—Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall July 21—Glenside, PA—Keswick Theatre July 23—Waterville, ME—Waterville Opera House July 24—Portsmouth, NH—The Music Hall September 12—Atlanta, GA—Atlanta Symphony Hall* October 2—Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live†*Mike Campbell & The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra †with Chris Stapleton
