About

Chris Forte

Guitarist/Musician

Welcome to my site and thank you for your interest in my music!

Come November and December, I will be back on tour with Mannheim Steamroller. This time our Red Band will be on the west tour, starting in Loveland, Colorado and finishing up in Carmel By The Sea, California. Please check my calendar for exact dates, and I hope to see you out there.

I had an amazing summer playing In The Who's Tommy at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. And I am beyond thrilled that I will be performing a couple segments from that show at The 55th Jeff Awards, October 2nd at Drury Lane, as Tommy has been nominated in so many categories this year.

I am also proud that the Paramount's production of Fun Home is also up for several awards this year, as I thoroughly enjoyed playing guitar in that amazing and deep musical production.

My current album, Backyard Astronomy, has been featured on several Spotify playlists, and has received over 10,000 plays on Spotify as well as dozens of reviews since its release!

I have the pleasure of playing some excellent tribute shows coming up with the SoundTracks Of A Generation family. Including our first time bringing the Van Morrison tribute, An Irish Heartbeat, to the amazing GET Performing Arts Center in Galesville, WI. We also have a killer 10-piece band together for our Aretha Franklin tribute, Soul Bliss, featuring my good friend the incomparable LaShera Moore.

Here is a link to my YouTube page if you'd like to browse some of my live videos. If you like what you see or hear, please feel free to let me know and don't forget to subscribe, like, comment, and share.

I appreciate the support. Thank you!

Chris Forte Guitar YouTube Channel

My Tommy Rig

Guitars: Larrivee OM Acoustic and Gibson Les Paul Standard 60's

Quick rundown of my rig for Tommy for interested folks:

Guitars:

2022 Gibson Les Paul Standard 60's with PAF pickups by PickupsByPeteFlynn

1990's Larrivee OM with LR Baggs Anthem pickup/mic system

Electric Rig:

HiWatt T20/10 MKII Amp Head into homemade cabinet with Celestion 12" Greenback speaker. The cabinet is mic'd inside a road case behind the pit.

Pedalboard:

Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2+

Dunlop Mini-Crybaby Wah

Menatone Red Snapper pedal (ca. 2001, always on, provides crunch tone that cleans up when I play softer)

Earthquaker Devices Palisades Overdrive pedal (such a great pedal, I'm using the most open mode with no compression, and nice thick overdrive - very British sounding through the HiWatt. I also have approximately 4 db boost on the Palisades for my leads and sound effects)

Line 6 HX STomp (I'm using this for my echo/delay and analog chorus, which are often engaged at the same time on this show. I love the verstility of the HX Stomp, great tool)

Strymon Engineering BlueSky Reverb pedal (this pedal also stays on for the whole show, using a lush plate reverb with smooth decay. Strymon reverbs are my favorite for guitar)

Ernie Ball VP Jr. volume pedal (comes in after the effects so I can pull out the reverb trails when I need to)

My backup guitar is an Epiphone '65 Cassino Elitist with P90's, that sounds great and can cover for the acoustic as well if needed.

Backup amp is my personal favorite, Top Hat Club Deluxe, the Greenback in the cabinet is the speaker from the Top Hat combo amp.

That's the gist of it. The Guitar 1 book has a great mix of electric and acoustic moments, and requires many tools in my belt to play each time. The beast is the fast pace of the show, with an amazing dedication to having the music seamlessly set up the story. It's thrilling to play this book each night, and to hear the audience reactions. My only wish is that I could see it!

Latest Tracks

Available to purchase direct from my site!

 

Backyard Astronomy

Chris Forte

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  1. 1
    Searchin' 3:29
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  2. 2
    In A Funk 5:21
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  3. 3
    The Thrill Is Gone 4:56
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  4. 4
    Tranquillo 4:21
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  5. 5
    A Lifetime With You 4:47
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  6. 6
    Quarantine Coronatones 2:47
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  7. 7
    Rehash Swagger 5:19
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  8. 8
    The Way We Love 5:49
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  9. 9
    The Swan 2:28
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  10. 10
    Messed Up World 5:50
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  11. 11
    Covidy Blues 5:01
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  12. 12
    Rhapsody In Blue 2:45
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  13. 13
    Baby Steps 4:44
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  14. 14
    Backyard Astronomy 5:04
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Soul Farmer

Chris Forte

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    Time For Mine 4:37
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  2. 2
    The Tomahawk 4:23
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  3. 3
    She Go That Way 5:27
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  4. 4
    No Pain No More 3:48
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  5. 5
    Pray For The Day 4:57
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  6. 6
    Wire & Wood 2:53
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  7. 7
    CTA 4:25
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  8. 8
    10:53 5:34
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  9. 9
    Soul Farmer 2:44
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  10. 10
    Hatred / Jubilation / Hope 11:34
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Shows

Please come out and support live music!

Date Event Location
Mannheim Steamroller Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage - The Show, Rancho Mirage, CA Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage - The Show, Rancho Mirage, CA
Mannheim Steamroller Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, Northridge, CA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, Northridge, CA
Mannheim Steamroller Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, Northridge, CA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Arts, Northridge, CA
Mannheim Steamroller Wagner Noel Performing Arts, Midland, TX Wagner Noel Performing Arts, Midland, TX
Mannheim Steamroller Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, TX
Mannheim Steamroller LeTourneau University Belcher Center, Longview, TX LeTourneau University Belcher Center, Longview, TX
Mannheim Steamroller Verizon Theater, Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theater, Grand Prairie, TX
Mannheim Steamroller River Spirit Casino Resort - The Cove, Tulsa, OK River Spirit Casino Resort - The Cove, Tulsa, OK
Mannheim Steamroller Stormont Vail Events Center, Topeka, KS Stormont Vail Events Center, Topeka, KS
Mannheim Steamroller Orpheum Theatre, Sioux City, IA Orpheum Theatre, Sioux City, IA
Mannheim Steamroller Sheels Arena, Fargo, ND Sheels Arena, Fargo, ND
Mannheim Steamroller Duluth Event Convention Center, Duluth, MN Duluth Event Convention Center, Duluth, MN
Mannheim Steamroller Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Mannheim Steamroller Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, WI
Mannheim Steamroller 2023 Christmas Tour Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont, IL Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont, IL
Mannheim Steamroller The Grand Theater, Wausau, WI The Grand Theater, Wausau, WI
Mannheim Steamroller Stephens Auditorium, Ames, IA Stephens Auditorium, Ames, IA
Mannheim Steamroller Alliant Energy PowerHouse, Cedar Rapids, IA Alliant Energy PowerHouse, Cedar Rapids, IA
Mannheim Steamroller Lied Center, Lincoln, NE Lied Center, Lincoln, NE
Mannheim Steamroller Orpheum Theatre, Omaha, NE Orpheum Theatre, Omaha, NE
View previous events

Latest News

Mannheim Steamroller tour 2022

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