Sophie Lloyd

Last updated

Sophie Lloyd
Sophie Lloyd - Rock im Park 2023 11 (cropped).jpg
Lloyd performing with Machine Gun Kelly in 2023
Background information
Born (1995-10-22) 22 October 1995 (age 29)
London, England
Genres
OccupationGuitarist
Member of Machine Gun Kelly
Website sophieguitar.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011–present
Genres
Subscribers1.16 million [1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: 6 July 2024

Sophie Lloyd (born 22 October 1995) is a British guitarist. [2] [3] Since 2011, she has gained international recognition on YouTube as a rock and metal guitarist. She has been a guitarist in Machine Gun Kelly's touring band, which she joined in 2022. Her debut EP "Delusions" was released in 2018. Her debut solo album, Imposter Syndrome, was released in 2023.

Contents

Early life

Sophie Lloyd was born in Oxford on 22 October 1995. She grew up in Henley-on-Thames. [4] She first picked up guitar at the age of nine, after watching "Goofy Goober Rock", a modified cover version of Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock", in the 2004 film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie . [5] Her early influences included metal bands Iron Maiden, Black Label Society and Pantera, [6] as well as Joe Bonamassa and Halestorm. [4] She graduated with first-class honours as a Bachelor of Music in Popular Music Performance from the BIMM Institute London in 2018, and is a professional composer. [7] [8] [9]

Career

Sophie Lloyd performing in London with Marisa And The Moths in 2019 190818--sophie lloyd.jpg
Sophie Lloyd performing in London with Marisa And The Moths in 2019

Sophie Lloyd started her YouTube channel in 2011, highlighting her instrumental cover versions, her own compositions, guitar equipment reviews, and her shredding and soloing techniques. Her YouTube channel gained international recognition, achieving 54 million views by December 2020. [8] She joined Machine Gun Kelly's touring band in 2022, for his Mainstream Sellout Tour. [10] She was voted Best Rock Guitarist of 2022 by the readership of MusicRadar . [11] [12] Her debut album, Imposter Syndrome, debuted at #3 on the UK Rock chart and #11 on the Indie chart in 2023. The album gained a nomination for Best Breakthrough Album at the 2024 Heavy Music Awards [13] and the solo of "Do or Die" was voted by Guitar World readers as the 2nd best guitar solo of 2022. [14] In June 2024, her debut solo headline show was first announced for Camden Assembly the following October [15] and then upgraded to The Underworld, due to high demand. [16] [17] In September 2024, her US debut headline show was announced for the Whisky a Go Go in January 2025. [18] [19]

Equipment

Lloyd with her guitars in 2023 Sophie Lloyd on UltimateGuitar.jpg
Lloyd with her guitars in 2023

Sophie Lloyd is endorsed by Kiesel Guitars [20] [21] and Ernie Ball strings. [9] She has also used EVH and Diezel guitar amplifiers and Boss effects pedals. [22]

Discography

Albums
EP
Singles

References

  1. ↑ "About Sophie Lloyd". YouTube.
  2. ↑ Parker, Matt (27 October 2023). ""Yes, that's a real spider": Sophie Lloyd's Enter Sandman (Shred Version) adds extra fretboard flair to Metallica's thrash classic – alongside some snakes and a tarantula named Rosie". Guitar World. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  3. ↑ Sharma, Amit (7 November 2023). ""There's no replacement for picking up a guitar, feeling those strings under your fingers and building your calluses": British shred hero Sophie Lloyd teaches you how to become a better player". Guitar World. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 Glass, Polly (9 January 2024). ""I wanted to write an album for my 15-year-old self, growing up kind of lost, but just knowing I loved music": Sophie Lloyd on the origins of her Imposter Syndrome album". Loudersound (Classic Rock). Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  5. ↑ Parker, Matt (12 July 2023). ""This is going to sound so embarrassing…": Sophie Lloyd says this kids cartoon – no, millennial icon – was responsible for her picking up the guitar". Guitar World. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  6. ↑ "Sophie Lloyd". The Guitarwrist. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  7. ↑ "Sophie Lloyd Artist and Guitarist". BIMM Music Institute. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Sophie Lloyd Guitarist Composer and Performer from England". The Music Man. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  9. 1 2 "9 Famous Female Guitarists and Their Signature Guitars". Guitarguitar. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  10. ↑ Scarlett, Liz (24 May 2022). "Machine Gun Kelly recruits Sophie Lloyd as new live guitarist". Louder. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Alderslade, Merlin (8 December 2022). "Sophie Lloyd voted Best Rock Guitarist of 2022". Loudersound (Classic Rock). Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  12. ↑ Laing, Rob (7 December 2022). "The 10 best rock guitarists of 2022, as voted by you". MusicRadar. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Childers, Chad (24 April 2024). "All 2024 Heavy Music Awards Nominees Revealed for 10 Categories". Loudwire. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  14. ↑ Horsley, Jonathan (14 December 2022). "The 10 best guitar solos of 2022". Guitar World . Future plc . Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  15. ↑ Colothan, Scott (4 June 2024). "Sophie Lloyd announces debut headline show". Planet Rock. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  16. ↑ Howell, Maddy (7 June 2024). "Sophie Lloyd Announces Upgraded Venue For First London Headline Show". Rock Sound. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  17. ↑ Carter, Emily (7 June 2024). "Sophie Lloyd upgrades venue for her first-ever headline show". Kerrang. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  18. ↑ Weller, Phil (16 September 2024). ""I'm so grateful for the strong American audience I've gained online. It's about time I rock out with them in person": Sophie Lloyd announces her debut solo US show – and marks the occasion with a shred reimagining of Alice Cooper's Poison". Guitar World. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  19. ↑ England, Adam (18 September 2024). "Sophie Lloyd announces debut US headline show at iconic LA venue Whisky A Go Go". Guitar. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  20. ↑ Astley-Brown, Michael (4 May 2023). "Kiesel unveils the Sophie Lloyd Signature Series – signature guitars you can spec yourself". Guitar World. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  21. ↑ Horsley, Jonathan (1 March 2021). "Sophie Lloyd: "Trolls got me down, so I made a 'shredding to Justin Bieber' video as a retort. You can shred over anything you want!"". Guitar World. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  22. ↑ Rogers, Ellie (15 June 2022). "Sophie Lloyd shares her advice for future guitar YouTubers: "The hardest thing to do is to post that first video because it's putting yourself out there and it's quite scary – I'd say forget all of that, you just need to do it!"". MusicRadar. Retrieved 6 July 2024.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.