Since the tragic passing of Ozzy Osbourne, countless guitarists have taken to the stage to honor the Prince of Darkness. Grace Bowers is the latest big name to do so with a scintillating cover of Crazy Train.
Nuno Bettencourt and Extreme have dropped a thrilling Ozzy medley into their current live show, and Wolfgang Van Halen played a tear-jerking rendition of Mama I’m Coming Home shortly after the news of the metal legend's death broke, to name just two.
Teen guitar star Bowers has followed in their wake, shredding through one of Randy Rhoads’ classic guitar solos at a recent show with her band, Grace Bowers and the Hodge Podge. Donning one of her Cherry Red Gibson SGs for the performance, the fast-rising guitarist showed her tapping skills, and she handled it with aplomb.
“Honoring Ozzy and Randy last night,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a clip of her solo. “Learned the solo the other day, so it’s not perfect, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t fun to play.”
She plays the solo flawlessly, and with a guitar tone that would impress even the snobbiest of guitarists, to boot.
“Are we just going to graze over [that you learned it the other day]?” one viewer said. “Like, are you kidding me? Incredible.”
Having impressed many veteran players in recent years, the young guitarist has started to show what she can do outside of the blues-rock realm in 2025.
Earlier this year, she joined the All-American Rejects at a house party show and shredded in ways she’d never done before. She also traded licks with Peter Frampton and Trey Anastasio on a solo-laden cover of a Beatles classic in March, and played with Coldplay’s Chris Martin at the Grammys, much to her surprise.
That, she says, is by design as she looks to unshackle herself with that stylistic tag.
“I get the label as a blues rock artist a lot, and I hate that,” she said in February. “That's not the type of music I make, nor is it the kind of music I listen to.”
Yet, despite the brightness of her rising star, which has seen her play Jimmy Kimmel Live! and numerous legendary players championing her craft, she has, sadly, also faced sexism in the industry.
“I get disrespected before I even play,” she told Guitar World last year. But she's been making them look stupid one lick at a time, and this latest guitar solo has further staked her claim as one of the best new guitarists around.
