Griff Hamlin and The Circle City Horns

At just 41 years old, guitarist Griff Hamlin has already enjoyed a successful and varied career that has spanned well over 2 decades. The Griff Hamlin Band, with the addition of the Circle City Horns, is the culmination of those 20+ years and literally thousands and thousands of miles.

In Griff Hamlin and the Circle City Horns, Griff has surrounded himself with the highest caliber of musicians and performers anywhere. The horn section consists of Laura Hamlin, Griff's wife, MIke Gaughan on Trumpet and Ken Mengel on Trombone. Ken also does many of the arrangements for the horn section.

In the rhythm section Griff has long time friend and bass player, Mark Smith, who has been in the band since its inception in 1992. On drums is Chris Atchley, a true road veteran with several recording credits to his name, and newcomer Quinton Hufferd, or "Q" as we like to call him.

With so much experience under their belt, what this band excels at is connecting quickly with a crowd and taking them down a transformational journey through music that everyone can relate to - the blues. Whether it be a BB King or Freddie King classic, or one of Griff's original compositions. The songs are always fresh and the performance is always exciting and enthralling at the same time.

Griff's career began in high school where as a junior he began teaching private guitar lessons and doing gigs around the Boston area. In 1989, he moved to Orange County, CA, where he has continued to teach privately, and continued to enjoy an active career as a freelance guitarist, vocalist, bandleader, and songwriter. In 1998 he attended the prestigious USC Thornton School of Music where he had the opportunity to study and perform with such guitar legends as Steve Trovato, Pat Kelley, Frank Potenza, and Joe Diorio.

Griff started the Griff Hamlin Band as a blues quartet in 1992. The band has recorded two solo albums, one of original blues/rock songs in 2000, and one live concert recorded in Krosno, Poland in May of 2004.

His first album, released in 2001, garnered him an Orange County Music Award nomination for “Best Blues.” But what Griff and his band truly enjoy most is performing before a live audience and making that magical connection you just can't get anywhere else.

On the heels of two European tours, having performed overseas for US troops in Turkey, Italy, and Korea, and being a regular performer at Disneyland off and on for over 10 years, Griff started an online Blues Guitar Learning community called Blues Guitar Unleashed.

Now with over 29,297 students in over a dozen countries worldwide, Griff and Blues Guitar Unleashed have been working hard to bridge the learning gap for the legions of blues fans who want to be able to play guitar like some of those iconic legends.

In 2011, Blues Guitar Unleashed branched out to a live event in Corona at the famous Fender Museum and Center For The Performing Arts. Now, aspiring blues guitarists from all over the world descend on this legendary facility for a 3 day event full of master classes and jam sessions. And the proceeds go to benefit Fender's "Kids Rock Free" program which helps to bring music lessons to young people who could not otherwise afford them.

Griff currently lives in Corona, California with his wife, Laura, and their 3 children.