Matteo Mancuso, anointed as the next ‘guitar hero,’ will make his Iowa City debut Feb. 11

Earning Joe Bonamassa's admiration has significantly boosted Matteo Mancuso's career.

When the blues guitar hero gushed about Mancuso's dynamic play after the tandem jammed together last spring, axe aficionados took notice.

"Playing with Joe was a dream come true," Mancuso said. "Joe is one of my heroes."

Bonamassa can't believe how accomplished Mancuso is at this stage and is pleased that the Sicilian virtuoso decided to focus on the guitar.

"It's obvious that the biggest selling music section in a music shop is the DJ section," Bonamassa said while calling from Washington D.C. "I can't say that I blame them. The guitar is not an easy sell for a kid who wants to play music. One option is to work on mastering an instrument that takes years to learn how to play adequately. That will kill your social life. I know what it's like to play alone in a room and practice over and over again. I don't think that's so appealing for kids today."

Mancuso, 29, didn't take any shortcuts. He put in the hours and it shows. It was obvious that Mancuso possessed extraordinary potential as a prepubescent.

His father, Vincenzo Mancuso, a well-respected guitarist, producer and session player throughout Europe, noticed his son's skill at an early age. However, there was no pressure to cultivate his son's obvious gifts.

"That was a good thing since I didn't take music very seriously at the start," Mancuso said. "I started when I was 10 years old. What was great was that my father made it a playful thing. Some parents have a son, who is very good at something and they make them study whatever that is for eight hours a day. My father was never like that. He said that if I wanted to play with him, that's great. But if I didn't want to play that's great or if I wanted to practice it was up to me."

By the time Mancuso, who will perform Wednesday, Feb. 11 at the Englert Theatre, was 14, he was obsessively honing his skill.

"I just enjoyed studying classical guitar so much," Mancuso said. "I realized that this was something I could do during my entire life."

After graduating with a degree in jazz studies from the Palermo Conservatory of Music, Mancuso became a professional musician who plays an unclassifiable brand of tunes that incorporates both jazz and rock.

"People want to label me, but I'm not a big fan of that," Mancuso said. "I don't believe in being placed in a genre. To me there are two kinds of music, good music and bad music."

Slot Mancuso, who plays the guitar with his fingers instead of a pick to create layers of sound, in the former column. His debut album, 2023's "The Journey," is an eclectic project with deep grooves. Mancuso's tracks range from jazz to progressive rock. There's some hard rock influences thrown in for good measure.

Mancuso will deliver tracks from "The Journey" and preview cuts from his forthcoming album, "Route 96," when he performs at the Englert.

"With the new album things were more planned and there was less improvisation in the studio," Mancuso said. "This time I built a demo and sent it to my bassist and drummer. That was the main difference."

The similarity is that Mancuso plays different styles of music once again with "Route 66," which will be released in April.

"If I played one type of music it would just get to be boring for me," Mancuso said. "I just can't do that."

Vincenzo Mancuso performed on and produced both albums with his son.

"My father didn't play as much on this album as he did on the first album," Mancuso said. "But he was so helpful recording everything. He's a great producer, who is especially helpful in recording drum sounds. That's the most complicated instrument since it's the only acoustic instrument in the studio. My dad is great. He's a '70s guy, who loves guys like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. I love those guys as well but I like the modern players too."

Mancuso is a huge fan of emerging guitar virtuosos Josh Meader and Max Ostro. The former is a jazz fusion master from Australia and the latter is a young Russian shredder.

"They're both amazing," Mancuso said. "Josh is one of the best guitarists I've ever seen in fusion. You don't hear much about Max since he's in Russia. Max is even younger (20 years old) than I am and he's phenomenal. "

Mancuso enjoys talking up rising guitar players but shrugs when reminded that established guitar superstars such as Steve Vai, Tosin Abasi and Al Di Meola rave about his technique. The latter performed with Mancuso in 2022.

"That was a fun experience with Al," Mancuso recalled. "I was literally shaking before our performance. We were in Italy and it was just something I'll never forget. I'm very fortunate to be able to play with incredible guitarists like Al Di Meola and Joe Bonamassa. It's great to be able do that and be able to do what I love, which is composing music and touring."