Last week saw the commencement of the 2024 Experience Hendrix tour, which will see a huge ensemble of A-list guitar heroes pay tribute to the trailblazing rock ‘n’ roll guitar god across a series of live dates in the US.
Zakk Wylde, Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, Samantha Fish, Dweezil Zappa, Robby Krieger, Ally Venable and many, many others will all hit the stage under the Experience Hendrix banner to tackle and interpret some of Hendrix’s most enduring hits throughout the next few weeks.
There is, however, another name that will join the guitar heroes on their Hendrixian journey: Izabella. Now, Izabella isn’t a person, but an electric guitar. Specifically, ‘Izabella’ is the name given to the Fender Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix played during his legendary 1969 Woodstock set.
This particular Strat was brought out on stage by Jimi’s sister, Janie, during the opening Experience Hendrix show, and was played by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson and Aryon Jones, among others, throughout the evening.
It’s quite the guest star to take on tour. Izabella is, after all, one of Hendrix’s most iconic instruments, and was one of the last guitars he played live right up until his death. It was the driving force behind Hendrix’s seminal Woodstock slot, and will forever be synonymous with that performance.
The guitar itself was first purchased by Hendrix around 1968 from Manny’s Music in New York City, and saw plenty of prior to Hendrix's death. It carries all the wear and tear you’d expect from a six-string that spent time serving a guitar god in his prime, including several dents along the body and a cigarette burn on the headstock.
Shortly before Hendrix’s death in 1970, he passed the guitar to bandmate Mitch Mitchell. More recently, Izabella has been part of the Museum of Pop Culture’s collection.
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“While Hendrix owned many Stratocasters in his lifetime, this Strat seemed to be a favorite,” an excerpt from the Museum of Pop Culture reads. “The 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair was one of the decade’s defining cultural events, and Jimi Hendrix’s extraordinary, unprecedented rendering of The Star-Spangled Banner was a defining moment of the festival.
“With this guitar, Hendrix evoked the majesty of America while also summoning the howling undercurrents of dissonance and violence echoing the Vietnam War and the nation's deep racial struggles.”
Now, it’s been pulled out of hibernation for the 2024 Experience Hendrix tour, and will be passed around a raft of players to mark its return.
“Having Izabella with us on stage for this tour is an amazing feeling,” says Janie Hendrix, who is also the President and CEO of Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. “This instrument was such an incredibly special guitar to Jimi. So special, in fact, he wrote a song about her.”
Fittingly, Izabella was the tune Eric Johnson elected to play with Izabella (as seen in the video above at the 8:56 mark), while Kenny Wayne Shepherd used the Woodstock Strat to rip through Gypsy Eyes, Come On (Part I), I Don’t Live Today and Voodoo Chile.
Head over to the Experience Hendrix website for a full list of upcoming tour dates.
