Meet Creighton Holmes

We were lucky to catch up with Creighton Holmes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Creighton , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

Creativity is something that is constantly fueled throughout everyday life. Whether it’s something I read about, experience personally, dream about, there is always a source of inspiration to follow throughout everyday life. All these factors influence my creativity on the guitar and what I write musically. I’m ruled by the heart, so whatever I end up playing is usually a derivative of whatever is going on at that moment. As a guitarist, I always try to find ways to keep my playing interesting and fresh. I always find that by going outside to other players who are in different genres, I will find something that I can take away from their music and incorporate into my playing or approach. At the same time, I enjoy going to my personal list of favorite guitarists such as Joe Satriani, Guthrie Govan, Andy Timmons etc. At times when I find myself in a funk or “uninspired”, I always find it best to play with my friends. My fellow guitarists and musicians never fail to inspire me creatively to push myself and try new things. I think it’s important as a musician to always challenge yourself to evolve. It’s not just about improving, but allowing yourself to be free musically to express yourself in any genre or through any technique. I find myself continuously experimenting and taking risks. Embracing that possibility of failure is the only way to grow and stay creative, in my opinion.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am Creighton Holmes, and I am from Saint Louis, Missouri. I currently reside in Nashville, Tennessee, and I am a guitarist who is beginning his journey as an artist. Ever since I was three years old, I’ve wanted to be a guitarist and go on tours and play and share my music with people across the world. Being an avid lover of Joe Satriani, I fell in love with instrumental guitar and the craft that goes along with it. I started playing at the young age of three, and emulated guys like Satriani, Hendrix, Ray Vaughan, Page, Van Halen etc. I eventually decided that attending Belmont University would help me get to that destination, and here I am about to graduate in May! Throughout my time at Belmont I gained a bevy of connections and friends I will have for the rest of my life, and musical knowledge that has been paramount in my growth as a musician. I am moving forward with my plans to write and record my own solo album, and working out a proper band as well for original material. It’s difficult to properly categorize and describe my music, but I enjoy creating music from the heart and allowing my years as a musician to take over once I’ve written the music and it’s time to solo or improvise. I’m thrilled to finally chase my musical dreams!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three skills that were key in my journey would have to be accountability, dedication, and belief in myself. I feel these three qualities are qualities that everyone who is successful usually possess. Accountability is important to keep yourself responsible and mindful of what it is that you must do to improve and keep yourself on the right track. I made sure that everyday I had the guitar in my hands and was playing, not necessarily practicing, but being musical and keeping myself active. I knew that was better than practicing twice a week three hours per day, because in those instances, it’s difficult to retain the progress and improve. That’s where dedication comes in. You must be dedicated to your craft and keeping at it. I found it easy to stay dedicated because for me, music was never something that felt like work or practice, it felt like a time to create and play. I viewed every time I played as an opportunity to improve on my last time playing, and that’s where the improvement came. The belief in myself also played a huge part in my journey. I’ve always had a belief in myself that I would be able to play guitar in the way I wanted. I believed in my musical abilities and committed to the idea of going to music school despite the fact it’s a risk and I had other options that would’ve been safer in a career sense. There have obviously been moments where I’ve doubted myself, but I’ve never wavered from the fact I felt compelled to pursue music as my career with the belief I have a story to share.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did was love me and believe in me. Giving me the freedom to pursue anything I wanted was a big privilege. Whether it was sports, music, games, school, they allowed me to make my own decision, even at an early age. Their trust in me is something that I wish to continue on to my children in the future. Having parents who support you and show you trust encourages you to be the best person you can be and to not let them down. In addition, it motivates you to trust yourself and to bet on yourself the way your parents do. The more I write, the harder it is to keep it to one thing! I think their presence in my life in general has been such a huge blessing, they’ve been perfect role models for me. I believe having their support is something that has been my biggest advantage in life. It’s something I never take for granted and I am thankful for every single day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.creightonholmes.com
• Instagram: creightonguitars
• Youtube: cjholmes842

Image Credits

Cates Davis