Grace Bowers, the electrifying American breakthrough artist at Les Étoiles in Paris

The American guitarist stopped in Paris for her first concert in France on July 10. Grace Bowers does things her own way. She started playing guitar at the age of 9 and used the Covid-19 pandemic to develop her skills before truly breaking through on social media in recent years. Now 19, she has emerged as one of the most exciting young talents of her generation. Les Étoiles welcomed her to Paris, and Blues Actu was there to tell you all about it.

Live report – Grace Bowers
📆 July 10, 2026
📌 Paris – Les Étoiles
📷 Rui Manuel Fernandes

Grace Bowers was in Europe for a short two-date headline tour, with London and Paris welcoming the young guitar prodigy. She came to make her love of protest rock and the blues perfectly clear. At the age of 13, she heard Sweet Little Angel by B. B. King for the first time and immediately became a fan.

Her Doc Martens bear the words “Fuck ICE,” while her guitar strap is covered with “Vote” messages. She makes no attempt to hide her convictions and launches into her set with passion, unleashing a succession of solos and electric flourishes.

However, the evening takes an unexpected turn during the second song when her amplifier fails. Within moments, Grace Bowers, helped by her guitarist, swaps the two amplifiers before launching into an improvised jam with her bassist and drummer.

Her spontaneity and handling of the incident are impressive. Without showing the slightest sign of stress or allowing an awkward silence to settle in, she keeps the concert moving. The guitarist returns a few minutes later, with everything carefully repaired and back in place.

A sound that was perhaps too powerful

A second and more significant issue nevertheless weighs on the entire evening: the sound. Loud, far too loud, it sometimes turns the music into a dense and difficult-to-decipher wall of noise. The instruments overlap, become hard to distinguish, and the vocals are almost completely buried in the mix.

Fortunately, Grace Bowers does not appear unsettled in the slightest and delivers a fierce performance, displaying a strong bond with her musicians. The audience is fully engaged, with many having also come to see the opening act, Die Twice.

Grace Bowers is undeniably a social media breakthrough artist from the Instagram and TikTok generation. But she is already much more than that. The four musicians give the audience no time to catch their breath, delivering a relatively short but particularly intense one-hour-and-twenty-minute show.

This evening at Les Étoiles gave the young American singer and guitarist the opportunity to introduce herself to a French audience for the first time. Despite the sound issues, she delivered a controlled performance and proved that she is a genuine frontwoman, rather than simply an outstanding guitarist. Grace Bowers is growing with every concert. At just 19, she already possesses the presence, confidence and spontaneity required to establish herself for the long term. We are already looking forward to her next appearance in France.

For the latest news and upcoming tour dates, visit: https://www.gracebowers.com/