Gibson Guitar will be at the heart of the rock and roll action this week, as Austin, Texas, plays host to thousands of bands, artists and industry movers and shakers for one of the coolest annual events on the music business calendar: South by Southwest.

Last week musician Kate Nash launched an interactive musical educational tour as part of the British Music Experience to inspire young people across the U.K. to engage with music. Nash, who won Best Female Artist at the 2008 Brit Awards, will tour the country in a 1968 Routemaster London bus, which has been transformed to replicate the London-based music museum.

Musikmesse is Europe’s largest musical instrument trade show. Manufacturers from around the world will assemble in Frankfurt, Germany, to present their latest products. And at the heart of it all will be the foremost innovator in musical instruments, the Gibson Guitar family of companies. And just as Gibson, Epiphone, Kramer, Steinberger, Baldwin and Wurlitzer will be displaying their latest designs, so can you!

Gibson Gear is proud to introduce a line of new guitar straps that match the best in style with the ultimate in comfort. The straps include the Modern Vintage Comfort Strap, the Switchblade Comfort Strap, the Fatboy Comfort Strap and the Montana Comfort Strap.

Gibson.com is thrilled to announce a new partnership with GuitarLessons.com, which brings exclusive, new instructional videos to our Lessons page.

At last month’s NAMM show, Premier Guitar caught up with the Gibson Custom team and got an inside look at the Custom Shop’s latest releases, including the Eric Clapton “Beano” model, the Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess, two Don Felder models and more.

The 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards are set to take place on Sunday, February 13 and Epiphone Guitar is on the scene all weekend to take part in the festivities. Epiphone will be participating in the official GRAMMY Gift Lounge and providing the awards show’s presenters and performers with instruments for “music’s biggest night.”

The Gibson Guitar Studio in London has hosted performances by some of the top bands from the U.K. and abroad. Over the past few years, the Studio has hosted invite-only gigs from such artists as Paul Weller, Kaiser Chiefs, Athlete, Feeder, Snow Patrol, Imelda May, The Temper Trap and The Boxer Rebellion, to name a few. Now, the Gibson Guitar Studio looks to continue that musical tradition with a new series of shows set to run every other Tuesday beginning March 10.

Because it’s just not socially acceptable to have your guitar strapped on at all times, Gibson Lifestyle’s Celebration Collection Watches allow you to show your Gibson pride on your wrist, 24/7. To make it easier than ever to purchase these limited edition timepieces, Gibson Guitar is offering them on our Facebook page.

In 1961, Gibson was looking to pep up the Les Paul line with a radical new design for the solidbody electric guitar. What they came up with was a thin, double-cutaway design that combined easy access with a fiery sonic output. It was called the “SG” (for “Solid Guitar”), and it would alter the course of popular music history forever in the hands of artists like Pete Townshend, Tony Iommi, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, Angus Young and a myriad of others.