A couple of decades ago in Houston, hometown crowds knew Hunter Perrin was special. Friends and fans watched him play guitar in local clubs and wondered: Where would this kid go? The answer: Everywhere. 

Hunter started playing guitar when he was 8 years old. Enamored with artists like Ritchie Valens and soundtracks like Stand By Me, he fell hard for the individual expression guitar allows. “Guitar felt like a signature––like a part of the person playing it,” Hunter says. He started teaching others how to play when he was just 14 years old.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in classical guitar, Hunter earned his master’s in classical guitar from Yale University. After living and working in New York City, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he continued to teach and find studio work.

Then, Hunter landed a dream job: guitarist for John Fogerty. He toured with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer for five years. “For a kid who’d started a Houston band called Thunderado with Paul Beebe in 2004 with the goal of sounding like Creedence, ZZ Top, and the Stray Cats, it was all a bit surreal,” Hunter says.

The work with childhood heroes and contemporary heavyweights didn’t stop there. Hunter built a list of studio and performance credits that jumps generation and genre, ranging from Little Richard to Ke$ha to Sturgill Simpson. He did a few one-offs with Billy Gibbons including TV special Rockin’ Roadsters, and played a slew of rockabilly gigs with Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom. Brian Wilson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Head, Elle King, and more red-letter names line his CV.

Throughout the steady flow of marquee performances and recording work, Hunter has always taught, drawing on his unique background spanning classical education and rock-and-roll bonafides. 

In the summer of 2023, Hunter moved home to Houston with his wife and two daughters. At Bojangles, he teaches intermediate and advanced guitar to students of all ages.

As an instructor, Hunter focuses a lot on fundamentals that cultivate a symbiotic relationship between instrument and player. “How can you touch the guitar in a way that’s comfortable and will allow your fingers to dance, instead of fighting with the instrument?” he explains. “Let’s look at your hands. Let’s use your right-hand thumb for about a month and that’s it, striving for economy of motion. It’s tricky, but it’s also really important.”

These days, Houstonians can hear Hunter live at favorite venues such as Dan Electro’s and the Continental Club, both solo and with his band, Thunderado. 

When he isn’t gigging, Hunter is building better guitar players in his beloved hometown. “You’ll see a renowned player, whether they’re a classical performer, old rocker, or a fresh new voice with something to prove, and usually what they all have in common is a self-assuredness that they’re doing the right thing,” Hunter says. “They believe in what they’re doing. That’s the goal for me and for my students: Figure out who you are and how you want to say what you want to say. Then, it’s going to sound fantastic, because you’re the only person who can do it that way.”